Kalaka: Small Beginnings
by Firehound427
Summary: Tom Fortnell arrives in Oahu seeking to make a living as a truck driver. But a sudden meeting with two guys in a Camaro at an intersection sets him up for an adventure that will combine his police past and his truck driving future.
1. Where It All Began

Aloha everyone! Welcome to Kalaka, or Truck in Hawaiian. Yep, I did my research. This series is going to run paralell to Hawaii Five-0, and then branch off into it's own alternative universe in future stories. As the title for this series suggests, this series is going to focus on trucks and drivers in Hawaii. Let's get started.

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><p>Tom Fortnell stepped out of the cab and into the Hawaiian sun. He had black hair, brown eyes and a military feel about him. He took off his cap, wiped his brow, and then put the cap back on. He had a grey T-shirt and denim jeans on him, different to the military uniform he once wore. As the cab drove off, he took in the building around him. A truck dealer.<p>

Striding across the entrance, he stepped into the air conditioned reception area, noticing the difference in temperature.

"Mr Fortnell." The female receptionist called.

"Yeah." Tom walked over.

"Which truck do you want to pick up?"

"The one I bought." He laughed. "OK, it's a 2011 Freightliner Coronado in orange."

The receptionist checked her computer. "Yes. Your truck is just over by the garage."

"Thank you." Tom turned around and walked back outside into the Hawaiian heat.

* * *

><p>Back outside, Tom took in the sight of various big rigs. Peterbilts, Kenworths, Sterlings, Western Stars. But he knew that his truck was a Freightliner, so that narrowed down his search. He contentrated his search at a row of trucks that stretched from the garage at one end of the lot, all the way to the reception area at the other end. He could see that most of the trucks were Freightliners, with a few Sterlings and Western Stars mixed in. Tom walked down the aisle, taking in the sight of dozens of big rigs. He could even make out a few rigs he recognized from research he'd done: Argosys, Coronados, Centurys and Classics.<p>

Tom's truck was at the western end of the lot, third one from the garage door, next to a Western Star 4900 and a Sterling A9500S. A 2011 Freightliner Coronado. With a long hood, big smokestacks and an aerodynamic sleeper cab, it was Tom's kind of truck. He walked around the truck, checking everything. Lifting the hood up, he took in the sight of the powerplant. It was a DD16 engine, manufactured by Detroit Diesel, displacing 15.6 liters and punching out 600 horsepower and 2,050 lb ft of torque, enough to haul whatever load found itself on the trailer attached to this truck. Tom shut the hood and continued his walk around.

Climbing inside the cab, Tom sat himself down in the driver's seat. Looking at the dashboard, he familiarised himself with the dials. He checked where the important switches were, and was pleased to see that they were within arm's reach. Climbing out of the seat, and stepping into the sleeper cab, he checked out the two cafe style benches facing each other, and a table in the middle. Perfect place to put a laptop computer, he thought. There was also plenty of space to store gear, stand up straight and have a rest after a long day's work in the 70" sleeper cab.

Back in the driver's seat, Tom had a moment to reflect on the journey he'd taken to get here. His first job was working in the army for 6 years, before transferring to special ops for another year. After that, it was off to the Tokyo Police Department for 3 years, before a 6 month stint in a bird sanctuary in Rio De Janeiro. Now, he was back on US soil after 10 years, and looking to make a living as a truck driver.

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><p>Tom took a breath, then turned the key. The Detroit Diesel engine roared into life, and Tom put the truck in 1st gear. He pressed the accelerator to get moving and steered his way out of the parking lot. He guided the Coronado steadily out onto the road, and started picking up speed. He had already fired up the GPS, which told him that he was heading east out of the dealer in Kapolei. Small beginnings. Tom went through a mental checklist. First off, find work. Any company looking for someone to haul trailer from A to B was acceptable. Also, he needed to make contacts. Fellow truck drivers he knew were more trustworthy, friendly and potentially useful in the future than truck drivers he didn't know. Perhaps after he had moved on as an independent owner operator, he could start his own company, so a little side quest would be to find somewhere to set up a headquarters with an office, garage and anything else needed for a trucking business. This was also where making contacts came in, as he could then recruit drivers he'd met on his travels. Right now though, he needed to find a job.<p>

All of a sudden, the light at the intersection ahead turned red. Tom brought the big Freightliner to a halt. His Coronado was the only vehicle at the intersection, but that was about to change. He didn't know it, but that one red light would eventually set him up for the best thing that would happen to him. He waited for a bit, noticing the lack of cars, before the light turned green, and he steered left to go onto the northbound road.

Suddenly, a black 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 burst through the intersection, followed by a silver 2010 Chevrolet Camaro RS, emergency lights blazing. The black Mustang only just managed to slide to a stop in front of the orange Coronado, and Tom only just managed to stop the orange Coronado in front of the black Mustang. He was only travelling at about 10 miles per hour, so there was no need to use the motor brake. The Camaro screeched to a halt to the left of the Freightliner. Two men got out, drew guns and approached the Ford. Tom couldn't help but notice how different they looked. One was dark haired, tall and casually dressed. The other was blonde, a bit shorter and dressed profesionally, tie and all. The driver was dragged out and cuffed. While the blonde dragged him away, the tall guy walked to the side of the rig. Tom noticed a tattoo that looked like one given to US Navy SEALs.

"Excuse me sir?" The dark haired guy asked.

"Yeah?" Tom answered through the open window.

"Are you alright?"

"Ah, nothing wrong. Rig still shiny side up, rubber side down. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Yeah." The tall guy glanced at the Mustang, then returned his gaze to Tom. "Name's Steve McGarrett by the way. You new to the island?"

"Yep. Only just picked up my new truck."

"Well, thank you for helping us to stop the suspect."

"Nothing to it. If only everything was that easy." Tom laughed.

"Yep." Steve was just about to walk away, when he turned back to Tom. "By the way, I never did catch your name."

"My name is Tom Fortnell." Tom disengaged the parking brake, steered past the Mustang, and drove off down the road, black smoke coming out of the smokestacks and leaving Steve to wonder where the hell he had heard that name before.

* * *

><p>It was 10:30am when Tom had started up his brand new truck for the first time, and it was 11:49pm when he pulled into a truckstop, a place by the name of 60 Miles in Pearl City. It had a gas station, a motel, a bar, a repair stop and a parking lot. Tom steered his truck into the parking lot, and took a space next to a Peterbilt 389. He killed the engine and got out to get a drink in the bar. While he drank his Fanta, Tom browsed through a newspaper from a couple of weeks ago. One particular story caught his eye.<p>

FIVE-0 DO IT AGAIN!

A daring operation in the middle of Honolulu has led to the arrest of a Coast Guard official planning to steal $28 million. A tsunami warning was sounded late in the morning, leading to an evacuation of all coastal areas. However, suspicion was aroused when an expected tsunami never arrived. It was later revealed that Dr. Norman Russell, a leading figure at the Tsunami Warning Center had been kidnapped in order to sound a fake warning and clear the streets, clearing the way for $28 million to be stolen from right under the noses of the Honolulu Police Department. The Five-0 taskforce stepped in, leading to the arrest of Sam Hales, a Coast Guard official who orchestrated the plot.

Tom looked at the picture. It showed Steve, the blonde haired man and two others in front of a Ford Super Duty pickup truck. He recognized the blonde from the intersection earlier, but the two Asians were unknown. He presumed them to be a part of the team.

Finishing his drink, Tom paid for the Fanta, then stepped out and made his way past the gas pumps. He didn't even make it to the second pump, when a voice called out. "Hey!"

Tom turned around to find a man with brown hair, brown eyes and a brown leather jacket walking towards him. "Um, hi?" He answered.

"What's your name?"

"Tom."

"Oh. My name's Nick." He replied. "Nick Aldrin. Nice to see a kind trucker here."

"Well, uh, I guess it is."

"So where's your rig?"

"There it is." Tom pointed to his truck. "'11 Coronado. 18 speed transmission, 600 horses, 70" sleeper."

"Nice." Nick pointed to his orange cab-over truck parked next to a gas pump. "2004 Freightliner Argosy. It's a nice truck, and the Detroit's sending 575 to the rears."

"Plenty of power."

"Well, I'll be sure to keep an eye out for you on the road."

"Sure thing. Anything you need?"

"Well, seeing as I'm a first timer, how about seeing if you can set me up with a job?"

"Sure." Nick thought to himself for a little bit, then turned to face Tom again. "Heard there's a load going out of Pearl Harbor. Load of wrecked cars bound for a dealer in Honolulu, and someone's gotta do it."

"Thanks buddy." Before leaving Tom said, "You're the first trucker I've met and you're so helpful. How about I give you a 10% share of the reward?"

"No, I'm good." Nick held out a palm, and shook his head. "Just make sure to arrive, driver, truck and trailer."

"Thanks. Bye!"

"Bye!" Nick turned around, and strolled back to his Argosy. Tom likewise marched to his Coronado, and climbed inside.

"So then, I've got a truck, a contact, and a job. Small beginnings."

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><p>I hope you enjoyed this story. I am only just beginning to write for Hawaii Five-0, and I hope to extend this story into a series. Please leave a review, and I promise that some load hauling will occur in the next chapter. Until next time!<p> 


	2. Meet & Greet

Second chapter... 3 reviews? 2 favorites? 9 alerts! I'd better get this one out!

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><p>Tom pulled his truck into the parking lot near the dock in Pearl Harbor. Killing the engine, he got out and walked over to the trailer. There was a man standing near there, about as tall as Tom and with a business look.<p>

"Excuse me?" Tom asked.

The man turned around. "Ah yes. You are?"

"Tom Fortnell."

"OK. My name's Steve..." At that moment, Tom's mind violently flashed back to the meeting at that intersection with Steve McGarrett. The word Steve bounced around in his mind. The man's voice brought him back to reality. "So I hear you are looking for a job?"

"Uh... Yeah." Tom confirmed. "How'd you know?"

"News travels fast on the CB."

"Oh, right. Let me take a look." Tom started walking around the trailer. It was a trailer specialized for transporting cars, and there were indeed cars on the trailer. Five wrecked cars. "They weren't kidding." Tom remarked. The damage mainly ranged from scratched sides, through smashed windows to crumpled front ends. There were three cars on the top deck, and two on the lower deck, with the space on the lower deck behind the ramp kept clear.

"Reward is $4,814. Not a lot I know."

"I wasn't expecting a Porsche worth of money. I'm looking to learn the ropes and earn a few on the way."

"In that case, I just need you to sign this form." Tom took the clipboard and pen, logged down details and signed his name. "OK, good." Tom returned the clipboard. "Trailer's yours. You deliver it to the dealer in Honolulu, show them the paper, and reward should arrive soon after."

"Got it." Tom began to walk away.

"Oh, and one more thing. Watch out for full blown idiots shooting tailpipes out there."

"Sure thing."

* * *

><p>Getting the truck attached to the trailer was a simple operation. First, it required backing up the truck to the trailer, an operation that Tom had to recruit Steve's help for. Once truck and trailer were lined up, Tom then got out, attached the brake lines, and raised the landing gear. It took about six minutes, and then Tom was on his way to Honolulu.<p>

Out on the highway, Tom was kept busy with keeping his truck in lane, with the correct speed, and leaving enough braking distance for his big truck to effectively stop should the need arise. Steve's warning was stuck in his head.

"_Watch out for full blown idiots shooting tailpipes out there."_

The truck was currently doing 60mph. Tom had left it in 14th gear, so the revs were hovering under the 1500rpm mark. The water temperature inside the engine was 105 degrees, the psi inside the brakes was at 100, and there was 600 liters of fuel inside the tank. To kill time, Tom decided to tune the CB radio to channel 6.

"So I hear the legendary Tom Fortnell is in one of those trucks on the highway."

"Yeah. I hear he's in an orange Freightliner heading east for Honolulu."

This was going to be interesting.

"Well, if you're listening out there Tom, aloha. Welcome to our fabulous island, just keep it in the paint."

"Yep. I've got your back door, and I'm throwing out the threes and eights. Let's do it to it."

Tom couldn't hold back any longer. He reached up for the CB radio, and pressed the push-to-talk button. "Hey, thanks guys. Thank you for the welcome. I didn't think I'd be so well greeted. In fact, I didn't know I'd be so well known."

"Well, we've got a news service on the CB here to rival CBS news."

"Yeah, that's expected. Thank you again, I've got the hammer down and heading home."

* * *

><p>The rest of the highway journey passed without incident. Now Tom was on city streets. Now, he had stop signs, traffic lights, and some close quarters combat to contend with. He was three miles away from his destination, when a familiar voice came over the CB.<p>

"Moving up in the world, are we?" The voice called.

"Hey, Nick!" Tom replied. "I didn't expect you to call so soon!"

"I've been listening in on channel 6. The way those guys were talking, it sounded like you were a celebrity or something."

"Well, I have become a bit of a legend."

"Sure. What's your 20?"

"Honolulu. About three miles from a car dealer. I'm hauling wrecked cars. Not the most glamourous job, I know... Thanks for the tip."

"Anytime."

* * *

><p>Two miles to go. Tom was nearly able to breathe a sigh of relief. He had come to an intersection. The light was green, so he simply powered on through. All of a sudden, he heard the roar of a powerful engine, and then a crash, and the trailer was knocked to the right a bit.<p>

"What the hell?" Tom stopped immediately, and engaged the parking brake. Leaving the engine running, he got out of the cab, stepped down to ground level, and surveyed the scene. A silver Mercedes SLS AMG sports car had somehow revved up, ran the stop sign, and plowed into the side of the trailer. Honestly, the car was now in pretty much the same condition as the cars on the trailer. Tom went over to the driver's door, lifted it up and helped the driver out of the car.

"Ma'am?" Tom asked once the brunette was out of the car. "Are you OK?"

"Oh dear, oh dear, Stan's going to kill me." Tom couldn't help but notice the brunette's smart attire and British accent.

"Well, consider yourself lucky that the crash didn't do what you are convinced this "Stan" is going to do to you."

"Well, yes, I suppose that that's one good thing."

"Yep. Now this is a hell of a mess."

"Indeed." She turned to Tom. "My name is Rachel, if you were wondering."

"Mine's Tom." He looked to the Mercedes, then to the trailer. "OK, let's see if we can get the intersection cleared."

"Oh dear... I hope there is some way I can repay you for what I've done."

"Well, hey, the trailer's not trashed, and the cars on it are pretty much wrecked anyway. Do you by any chance know of a dealer two miles from here?"

"Yes, the Mercedes-Benz dealer. Why?"

"Because I'm heading there, and there's a spot for one more car on the trailer. There's also a passenger seat in my truck. Don't mind getting a lift to the dealer."

"I suppose so."

"OK. Now, if you could find some way of getting this on the trailer..."

Rachel helped by lowering the ramp and helping Tom to push the car into the empty spot on the trailer. Tom did most of the dirty work, clearing the debris, and securing the car on the trailer. Within five minutes, they were back in the truck, with the space on the trailer now occupied.

Tom moved off, the intersection now cleared. "So how'd we... You know... Meet?"

"Well," Rachel explained. "I was just taking the new car for a spin, when I came to the intersection. I wasn't used to the power of the car, and my foot slipped, sending me past the light, and into the trailer."

"Huh. If I recall, that car is a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. It's got 560 horsepower, and I don't really blame you for not being used to it."

"Thank you." Rachel pulled out a phone, dialled a number, and put it to her ear. "Danny, it's Rachel, I've been in a car accident. No, I haven't been hurt. I'm OK, someone picked me up and is now taking me to the dealer in Honolulu. Tell Gracie I love her. Goodbye."

"Danny huh?" Tom said while he navigated the turns of the city.

"My ex-husband."

"That sucks."

"Yes, I moved to Hawaii, and he followed."

"And let me guess, Stan is your current husband."

"Correct."

"Mind showing me a picture of this Danny?" Rachel obliged, and handed him a picture of her, Danny and a little girl, who Tom deduced to be Grace. Upon seeing Danny's face, Tom flashed back to the meeting at the intersection, and the blonde tie-wearing guy.

"Are you alright?" Rachel asked, concern in her voice.

"Uh, yeah, I'm alright." Tom quickly returned the picture, and focused on driving once again.

* * *

><p>At the dealer, Tom dropped Rachel off, then set off backing the trailer into the garage. With Tom's parking skills, this took only three minutes, and then he parked his truck in the parking lot and waited around for his $4,814 reward. Of course, he did have to explain a bit about the extra car on the trailer, but after explaining, the dealer was willing to boost the reward to $5,302.<p>

In the sleeper cab, Tom sat on one of the seats, and browsed on his laptop. He was playing Pawn Stars on Facebook when he heard a car pull in, a car that didn't sound like your average four cylinder. Tom got up and climbed out of the cab, and sure enough, a Chevrolet Camaro had just pulled into the lot. A familiar Chevrolet Camaro. Tom tried to think where he had seen that Camaro, and sure enough, it was at the intersection.

While the blonde man rushed into the dealer to see if Rachel was OK, Tom was left in the parking lot with Steve.

"So, Tom." Steve began. "I've done a little digging on you."

"And?" Tom asked.

"You served in the US Army for 6 years. Were you taking part in Operation Mountain Thrust?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I remember you helping to bail us out of a tricky spot."

"Oh yeah! I remember us working together."

"And my last words before we parted was "Hope we meet again." It took five years, but here we are!"

"So why are you asking me these questions?"

"We could use you for our operations here." Steve leaned on the truck. "You may or may not be familiar with Five-0. It's a taskforce operating in Hawaii, reporting directly to the Governor, and specializing in murder, terrorism and human trafficking. With your driving and shooting skills, you could be a valuable asset to the team."

"I dunno." Tom pointed to the Coronado. "You make it sound like speed is part of the job. This truck isn't the ideal pursuit vehicle."

"Hmm. You may be right. But we could provide a vehicle, or you could get your own."

"I'll think about it. Is this work part time?"

"Yes. You simply get on with your life, and when the call comes, you get ready for action."

"Pay decent?"

"What you earn can go with what you get for truck driving. It's actually good bang for buck."

"Knowing you, there'll be a lot of bang."

Steve laughed. "Maybe you're right."

"I dunno..."

"At least think about it?" Steve slipped him a calling card. "At the very least, perhaps haul a few loads for us? Maybe a part time contract?"

"Perhaps."

"Well, good luck whatever you choose." By then, the blonde had come out of the dealer. "Let's go Danno."

"How many times have I told you not to call me that."

"Alright. Danny."

So that was who Danny was. Now he knew the major faces in Five-0, and he had received a job offer. This was going to be a hell of a job.

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><p>Sorry for the wait, but I tend to update on weekends when I have more time. Until next time!<p> 


	3. Welcome To The Team

Holy crap! The reviews have been piling in! I'll see if I can answer some of them here:

fan: Oh trust me, it gets better. This is just the start...

ginsensu: And that more will come with a serving of Steve and Danno. Think about it... A cargument in a truck...

francis2: Admittedly I had the idea for how Tom meets Rachel for a while now. I guess he didn't run into trouble, trouble ran into him!

amblue36: Enthusiastic as always!

AussieJo: Oh yes, this storyline will get interesting down the line. And I have had almost 2 years (one on this site) to develop Tom. I'd say he's more mature than when I started, so it'll be interesting to see where he goes. Speaking of which...

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><p>Early next morning, Tom was hanging around in the parking lot of Five-0 headquarters, a place they called "The Palace." On time, he walked into the building, and didn't stop until he reached the room where Five-0 was stationed.<p>

"Ah, Tom." Steve didn't even look up from the touchscreen desk. "Come in."

"What did you call me in for?" Tom asked.

"Alright. We need to know how good you are before we sign a contract with you hauling our loads. After much brainstorming from me, and ranting from Danny about pineapples..."

"I heard that!" Danny shouted.

"We managed to come up with a challenge to test your skills."

"Hit me."

"OK." Steve started working on the touchscreen, and brought up a map of Oahu. "The challenge tests for all of the qualities of a Five-0 member."

"I'm gonna enjoy this."

"Speed: You need to move fast to deal with situations. Get the load from Waialua to the palace in a certain amount of time to succeed.

"Maneuvrability: We're going to be dealing with close quarters here. Steer the trailer through the lot and reverse it into the space pointed out for you. This means you'll have to do tricky maneuvers.

"Caution: This load needs to be handled with care. Try not to damage the cargo, and treat it like you would treat a dangerous sitution: With care.

"Teamwork: You need to work well in a team. That's why we've got two trailers in Waialua bound for the palace. Find another trucker, someone you work well with, and stick with him."

"Are you actually signing me up for a contract, or are you eyeing me up for this taskforce?" Tom asked.

"Well, it's so we know we can call on you in times of need." Steve put two markers, the green one on Waialua, the red one on the location of the palace. "You've got 20+ miles to cover, and if you succeed in this test, we may decide to bring you on to haul our loads. Now, have you got someone to work with? Someone you trust?"

"Let's see..."

* * *

><p>At the loading dock in Waialua, Tom was just thinking of how to reverse his truck onto the trailer. There were two trailers lined up next to each other. They were both white, unmarked container trailers.<p>

"So what's in the trailers?" Nick asked.

"Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do or die." Tom replied, before jogging to his truck. "Let's do it to it."

After a session of synchronised reversing and trailer attaching, Tom and Nick were out on the road, Fortnell's Coronado leading the way and Aldrin's Argosy bringing up the rear of the convoy. Their route took them down the middle of the island, they weren't going to waste time skirting around the edge. The route took them south past Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Army Air Field and Mililani, before turning east and heading past Pearl City ("Sorry, no time to stop at the 60 miles.") before turning off and heading for the palace.

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><p>At the palace, Nick was instructed to wait outside the parking lot, while Tom had to maneuver through the lot and deliver the load. First off, Tom had to get through a narrow gap that was only just wide enough to fit the Freightliner through. Next, he had to maneuver around a parked Camaro which was again a tight fit. Then he had to execute a 180 turn, and he had to avoid pranging a parked Silverado with the trailer, while steering past a Cruze. Finally, he had to stop just in front of a Chevy Traverse, and then reverse the trailer into the empty area. All in all, the trip had taken just over an hour.<p>

"I gotta say, you did well babe." Danny congratulated Tom as he got out of the truck.

"So let's open up this trailer and unload the cargo." Steve added.

Once they got the trailer doors open, the three men took a look inside. "You know, to be honest," Tom remarked, "I thought it was going to be empty."

"Well, we thought that since you've got potential, we might as well get you working for us straight away." Steve confessed. "Now, let's get this gear unloaded. Drop the ramps, will ya?"

With Tom, Steve and Danny on the job, the ramps were dropped in just two minutes.

"These look like vehicle ramps..."

"You'll see."

Inside the trailer, Tom began unloading the gear. First out were two 50' monitors.

"These things are big."

"Not as big as your skills."

Next out was a big crate.

"M4s, MP5s, you never told me I'd be hauling automatic weapons!"

"I've been watching Black Dog, what can I say?"

There was also automobile parts.

"These look like spares for a '74 Mercury Marquis."

"Good. Thank you for delivering them, I'll take posession of them.

"Do you know something I don't Steve?"

Police tape.

"Crime scene. Do not cross. Right, I'm putting this on the weapons crate."

Grenades.

"What. The. Hell?"

"Don't ask babe. It's Steve."

First aid kit.

"I'm not sure if this is big enough..."

"I struggle to get this in the trunk of the Camaro, and you're telling me to make it bigger?"

Surfboards.

"Now who needs these? Danny?"

"Shut. Up."

A wardrobefull of ties.

"Don't even think about commenting on them. Don't even not think about commenting on them. Do. Not. Comment on them."

"I didn't even say anything!"

More spare parts.

"Camaro parts. Seriously, how many of these things do you go through?"

"No comment..."

"Do I even want to ask?"

"NO!"

A blue 1987 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z.

"Umm..."

"Yeah. That solves the problem of not having an ideal pursuit vehicle. This'll be your car until you can get your own car."

Once all the gear was unloaded (including the Camaro), Tom signed all the paperwork, and handed the clipboard to Steve. However, there was still one thing on Fortnell's mind.

"So how come I only ever see you guys driving Chevys?" Tom asked.

"Well..." Steve answered. "We made a deal with a Chevrolet dealer. In return for them supplying all our cars, we would advertise their products by only driving them."

"Yeah." Danny piped in. "That meant stuff like the Ford Mustang had to go."

"I dunno about you, but was it because it was involved in a firefight?"

"Correction, because you used MY Mustang for cover in one firefight too many!"

"Oh." Tom remarked. "You guys seem to have a history with cars. Now I know why you've got Camaro parts here."

"Yeah." Steve leaned against the trailer. "Well, looks like you've got your contract."

"Thanks. I'm gonna need details."

Danny spoke, "Every Wednesday, you're gonna get a call, e-mail, carrier pigeon, whatever suits you. Now your job is to drive to point A, and get the load to point B, which will be explained in the message. You get the load to us, and we'll use it for whatever we need it for."

"Sounds good to me."

"Come inside." Steve motioned for Tom to follow. "Let's get you tooled up."

* * *

><p>Inside, Steve showed Tom the firearms available. There were plenty of handguns, rifles, submachine guns, Tom was surprised that they didn't have heavy machine guns or rocket launchers in there. Danny would have a field trip when he saw this.<p>

"Take your pick." Steve offered. "Anything you want."

"Thanks." Tom went over to an M4A1 Carbine, his favorite assault rifle. He picked it up, pulled back on the charging handle to see if it was loaded, and then put it down on the table. He picked up some attachments, including several sights.

"Aimpoint Red Dot. Good for close to mid range combat." With military precision, he removed the M4's carry handle, and installed the Aimpoint on the top rail.

"EOTech Holographic. Close quarter choice." Tom deposited the EOTech next to the rifle.

"Trijicon ACOG 4x scope. Probably my bread and butter for most mid range engagements." The ACOG as put down next to the EOTech.

"6x Sniper Scope. Bit extreme, I know, but it's good to be prepared." He checked the sniper scope, and used it like a monocular to get a visual on his new Camaro IROC-Z out in the lot to see if the scope worked.

"Finally, a thermal scope. Darkness can't touch this." All the sights were now on the table.

"And now, a few bits and pieces. How about a CQB surpressor?" Tom screwed the surpressor onto the barrel. "And a 40mm grenade launcher." The grenade launcher was installed on the underside of the handguard. "Say hello to my little friend!" Tom yelled before miming launching a grenade at the door, testing the launcher for feel as he went. Satisfied that the M4 was to his liking, he went over to the pistols and picked out an M1911 .45 handgun. "Yep. I'm equipped."

Outside, the entire team plus one was gathered around. Tom swore to protect and serve the United States of America and the state of Hawaii, and then he was handed his badge, and his M1911 pistol (he'd only chosen it beforehand).

"Aloha." Chin congratulated. "Welcome to Five-0 brah."

* * *

><p>Welcome indeed! I hope this chapter was good enough. Next time... Well... A clue: E Malama...<p> 


	4. E Malama

Hello, and welcome back to Kalaka! Review answering time again!

amblue36: Enthusiastic again!

AussieJo: Oh yeah. New toys indeed.

LoveRnB: Yep. The fun will come soon, but don't forget that this is still a story about trucking.

stront: Even I admit, I chuckle a bit at the cargo they unloaded.

So here we go!

* * *

><p>Over the next few days, Tom had used the time to get to know the area a bit more. He had expanded his operations, travelling towards Kaneohe, and visiting a few truck dealers. Getting to know a network of dealers would help him when he would be sourcing trucks for his new business. He really liked the look of the Kenworth W900, and marvelled at the International LoneStar's awesome styling. Soon though, he was back on the road.<p>

Tom had also managed to get a DOT hazardous cargo certificate, allowing him to transport some hazardous cargo, such as fuel. And it was indeed fuel he was carrying right now. He was in the Coronado travelling southbound towards the police station, with a fuel tanker filled with gasoline bound for what he presumed were the HPD's patrol cars.

The highway was lonely, allowing Tom to feel more confident about not hitting stuff. The Freightliner was very big, and Tom didn't want to damage his cargo. The view was spectacular, but Tom kept his eyes on the road. The only car on the road was a black Mercedes Benz S550 that had passed about a minute earlier. Continuing along the road, Tom made sure to scan the road ahead of him. Up ahead, there was a woman and a child standing at the side of the road. Tom pulled the truck over to the right, stopped, got out, and crossed the road. To his (mild) surprise, it was Rachel and Grace.

"You guys OK?" He asked, making no effort to conceal the concern in his voice.

"Yes." Rachel replied, her voice shaky.

"What happened?"

"We were carjacked. Two men came out of nowhere. We stopped, and they pointed guns at us. I only just managed to get Grace out of the car before they drove off."

"Well, come to think of it, I did see a black Mercedes S Class drive by a few minutes earlier. That your car?"

"It's Stan's car. We sometimes switch cars."

"Hmm... Carjacking Stan's car and not yours. That's suspicious." Tom motioned for them to follow. "Come on, let's get in the truck. I was heading to the police station anyway."

* * *

><p>Inside the truck, Tom drove, with Rachel in the passenger seat, and Grace sitting in the driver's lounge.<p>

"Ironic, isn't it?" Tom commented. "It's not the first time I've given you a lift to where I was going. Although, mind you, this is a pretty serious situation. Can you give me the car's license plate?"

"Yes." Rachel thought for a few seconds. "VE9 47C."

"Got it." Tom grabbed the CB radio. "Hi, is that Honolulu PD? Yeah, it's Tom Fortnell, Five-0."

"Wait... You're..."

"Don't ask." Tom returned his attention to the radio. "I am requesting you file a missing vehicle report. Yeah. It's a black Mercedes Benz. Hawaiian license plate VE9 47C, that's Victor-Echo-Niner-space-Four-Seven-Charlie. Physical description, two white males, pretty rough looking. Details are sketchy at this time but I have reason to believe they're the carjackers. Advise all units, they are armed, and may fire on officers if confronted, advise extreme caution. Thanks Duke, owe ya one." Tom hung up the radio.

The journey was mostly in silence, but on the outskirts of Honolulu, a radio call came in.

"Tom? It's Steve."

Tom picked up the radio again.

"Commander McGarrett?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah. Steve." Tom pushed down the press-to-talk button. "What is it?"

"We have a case going on. We need to get a high-value witness to the courthouse to testify against Aaron Brenner.. Her last known location is at a safe house in Kahuku, and HPD lost contact with officers assigned to escort her and a federal marshal. They've been trying to put away Brenner for 10 years, and unless we can get her to the courthouse by 5, Aaron walks free. We need to find her and give her safe passage to the trial."

"Got it. I need to finish this delivery, then I'll be over. The IROC where I left it?"

"Yep. You take as long as you need."

"Sure thing. Good luck." Tom hung up.

* * *

><p>At the police station, Tom dropped Rachel and Grace off with instructions to tell the police what they had told him. He'd then gone to the loading bay, detached his trailer, and drove over to the palace, where it was a transfer of persons and equipment to the '87 Camaro.<p>

Tom packed his handgun, M4 Carbine, handcuffs and radio (not that he had ever been without his radio), then jumped in the driver's seat, and fired the Chevy up. The sound was awesome, a deep rumble, and Tom had suspected the reason Steve had chosen the IROC-Z was because it had the 5.7 Turbo Port Injection V8 engine, the hottest 1987 Camaro motor available with 225 horsepower. Shifting the car into drive, Tom steered out of the parking lot, and headed towards his destination, Rachel and Grace still in the back of his mind.

Passing Punaluu, Tom got a phone call. He switched on his hands free set and hit answer.

"This is Detective Danny Williams." Came the reply.

"Danny." Tom simply answered.

"Just to let you know that I will not be taking part in the operation to bring the witness to the courthouse. Rachel and Grace were carjacked earlier this morning, I'm at the police station with them."

"So I heard."

"So you heard?"

"OK, I lied. I found them at the side of the road. They were alright, just shaken up. I gave them a lift to the station. I presume everything is alright?"

"No. No. Everything is not alright, OK? I would just like to beat the crap out of the carjackers right now, but I, I have been working on my anger management."

"You have?"

"...They've recovered the car, nothing stolen."

"Hmm... That is suspicious. Well, call you later. Unless for some reason, Steve can't get bail and they throw you in a cell with the carjackers."

Hang up tone. Tom returned to driving.

* * *

><p>Once Tom arrived at the safehouse, he parked his Camaro next to a police Impala. He got out and walked over to Steve.<p>

"OK, what we got?" He asked Steve.

"OK, there's a patrol car here, but Julie Masters, the witness is nowhere to be found. We've found signs of forced entry."

"Looks like this just turned into a CSAR."

"Hang on, CSAR?" Chin asked.

"Combat Search And Rescue." Tom explained.

"Right now, we're tooling up ready to search for Masters." Steve continued. "There's no cell phone signal out here, and Julie could be anywhere in the jungle by now."

"Well..." Tom made a decision. "I'd rather let you guys do the searching."

"What?" Chin asked. "You'd be good with us."

"I'll let you guys work as a team."

"But you're wasting your potential!"

"Remember, I came here to drive trucks. Now Steve, if it's OK with you, I would like to assist Danny in his carjacking investigation."

Steve thought about this request for a minute. "OK. Just make sure Danny doesn't do anything stupid."

"Sure thing." Tom jumped back in the Camaro, and backed away from the area.

* * *

><p>Seeing as he didn't need the Chevrolet, Tom returned it to Five-0 headquarters, left all the gear in there, and climbed back inside his Freightliner Coronado. He had to admit, while the Camaro was a good car, he felt more comfortable inside the big truck, and not just because of the seats.<p>

Back on the road, Tom thought about the carjacking. This definitely wasn't a solo job. Also, it was pretty strange. Hell, if he was going to go down for 10 years for armed carjacking, he would at least make it worthwhile. Nothing stolen equaled something strange. And another thing strange was that they knew what car Rachel would be driving, and where and when she would show up. If this wasn't sending a message, he didn't know what was. Right now though, he was on his way to the airport. He'd managed to get advance intel from the ride to the police station that Stan would be returning from a business trip, and he wasn't going to doubt for one second that Danny would be anywhere else.

At the airport, Tom had pulled up to a spot with a good view of departures. He'd managed to grab binoculars and a snack bar from the driver's lounge in the back, and he was now in stakeout mode. Soon, a business man walked out on the phone, paused for a minute, and then got into a Lincoln Town Car. Danny knocked on the window, and ordered the man to get out. Tom set down the binocs and snack bar, and started up the truck. Soon, he was tailing Danny's Camaro as it weaved through the streets. After giving it five minutes, Tom activated the hands free phone device, and called Danny.

"Detective Williams." Danny said on the other end.

"Danny." Tom replied.

"What are you doing here?"

"Relax buddy, I've simply chosen to assist you with this investigation."

Danny exhaled sharply. "You really think that's a good idea?"

"Hey, I helped pick Rachel and Grace up. I figure I owe them one."

"Hold on, I think they owe you."

"Whatever. Find anything while I was gone?"

"Yeah. Their house was ransacked. Place is now a UN hurricane disaster zone but as usual, nothing taken. I have Stan in my car with me, he says he went to Bruce Hoffman, the housing comissioner to get permits for his new property. Everytime Stan agreed to a price, Bruce'd jack it up to a higher one. Stan had recordings on tape and told him he'd have him indicted. Obviously, Stan never came to me for help."

"You think he's after the tapes?"

"Probably, yeah."

"Guess we're paying Hoffman a visit."

"Damn straight."

"Oh, and one more thing. Get some rest, you look tired." Tom hung up, leaving Danny puzzled.

* * *

><p>At a restaurant, Tom followed Danny in. It didn't take much effort to spot Hoffman, mainly because Danny violently grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the kitchen. Tom stood guard outside, and didn't even flinch when the chefs hastily evacuated the room. There was an initial exchange of words, and then a crash as Danny shoved Bruce into a trolley. After a minute Danny walked out with a smile and a wave. Tom decided to get in on the action.<p>

"You." He pointed to a waitress. "Free pies for everybody. Everybody gets free pies." And with thatm he walked out the door.

Later on in the day, Tom was standing beside his truck looking at the Edwards house. He had got the news that it was mission accomplished, a few assassins in the bag, Julie's testimony at the courthouse and Aaron wouldn't be seeing the outside of the prison in pictures for a long time. Now, Tom looked as Rachel kissed and hugged Stan. Danny also hugged Grace. With his smile a tiny bit wider, he got back in the truck and drove off. He probably would not receive a thanks for what he did, but he liked it that way. He was just doing his job.

* * *

><p>What do you think of Tom picking up Rachel and Grace? It is never shown how they got to the police station, so I guess I'm tying up loose ends. As always, please tell me what I can improve on, so I can make this story even better! Until next time!<p>

Also, why not check out Tom Fortnell's Facebook page?: wwwdotfacebookdotcom/pages/Tom-Fortnell/140823469350666


	5. Case 40284673225

Poof! I'm back! Time to answer reviews again!

loveRnB: I guess watching the episode again on Blu-Ray worked then?

AussieJo: So... What you're saying is I got your heart racing? That's what I think happened...

* * *

><p>On an early morning run with eggs to a supermarket near Kahala a week after the carjacking incident, Tom's mind kept going to the cars. The vehicle seen in the news article was a Ford Super Duty, right? And Five-0 all used Chevrolets.<p>

"_That meant stuff like the Ford Mustang had to go."_

Steve had also reported that they had arrested a known drug smuggler in between the Julie Masters case and now. The smuggler had been driving a Ford Taurus at the time of arrest. Oh, that and the HPD cruisers seemed to be Chevy Impalas. Tom had known TV shows to use product placement, with the good guys all driving a certain make of car, and the bad guys would be driving a rival manufacturer's cars, such as cops in BMWs and robbers in Audis, to give an example. He'd have to start a case file to investigate this pattern of bad guys in Fords.

* * *

><p>And so it was at the palace that Tom began his investigation.<p>

"Hey, Steve." He called over to the SEAL.

"Yeah, what is it?" He asked.

"I'm officially opening up case number 40284673225 concerning the recent and widespread use of Fords by criminals." Tom opened up a case file on the tech desk.

"Your point being?"

"Mostly suspicion, but I think criminals seem to prefer Ford automobiles. We might be able to tell who criminals are by identifying their vehicles.

"Maybe."

"I'm going to need to take you back to the early days of Five-0. Well, not when you had the Mustang. I need you to go back to when you guys first started driving Chevys. Can you tell me who the suspects were, what they were wanted for and what vehicle they were driving at the time of arrest."

"OK." And so Steve took a seat and began describing. "OK, a Ford E-350 van. Used in the kidnapping of NSA cyberterrorism expert Roland Lowrey. Stolen two days prior."

"Opening case file and adding the E-350 to the file. Would you be so kind to get me a picture of the vehicle and a picture of the plate please?"

"Sure thing." Steve managed to get a picture of the white van. "Got slightly damaged in the crash."

"Crash?"

"It was used to slam into the SUV carrying Lowrey."

"And what was that SUV, out of interest?"

"A Ford."

"Hmm. Guess it's against the law to smash a Chevy in Hawaii?"

"A crime punishable by death." Danny said as he walked in. "Death by McGarrett. What's up, Tom?"

"Opening a case file to investigate the link between Fords and criminals." Tom answered.

"OK, that's helpful, where we starting?"

"With the Ford van used in the Roland Lowrey case. Steve's helping me out. Hopefully, we can get this early warning from seeing what cars people drive."

"Count me in." Danny took a seat next to Steve. "Third cop car this week just got smashed. Of course, it was a Ford that did the hit and run."

"That strengthens my case. We have more proof. More servings of Ford Mo Co pie please, Chef Williams."

"Well..." Danny remembered. "There was an Excursion leaving my ex-wife's house after the case with the Triad/Samoan gang war."

"Any details?"

"It had Governor on the side."

"Yeah, that figures." Tom commented while adding the vehicle to the file.

"Alright." Steve continued. "Several months later, there's a group of bank robbers using a triathlon for cover. Chin and Kono reported a couple of 'em going for a recon run in a Ford Escape, plate RFC 787."

"Several months, that's a hell of a gap."

"Well, it was mostly other vehicles used in that gap." Danny explained. "But after that, Ford usage went up."

"So what were you guys doing at the time?"

"Stakeout. While they were gone, I sneaked into their house, with Steve keeping watch from my ex-wife's house."

"And out of interest, what is your ex-wife's name?"

"Rachel."

At the mention of that name, Tom's mind flashed back to his first encounter, and then other events.

"_Indeed." She turned to Tom. "My name is Rachel, if you were wondering."_

"_Mine's Tom." He looked to the Mercedes, then to the trailer. "OK, let's see if we can get the intersection cleared."_

_Up ahead, there was a woman and a child standing at the side of the road. Tom pulled the truck over to the right, stopped, got out and crossed the road. To his (mild) surprise, it was Rachel and Grace._

"_You guys OK?" He asked, making no effort to conceal the concern in his voice._

"_Yes." Rachel replied, her voice shaky._

"Hey." Danny brought Tom back to the room. "You OK? You look zoned out."

"Agh, it's just everything comes back to Rachel." Tom replied. "Let's continue."

"OK. Couple of months after that, when it came to the Hiro Noshimuri case, there was a guy... Steve said he was one of the guys who broke into his house. The guy pulled a gun on us, tried to shoot us, then ran and leapt into a waiting Ford Fusion."

"Just for clarity, who is Hiro Noshimuri?" Tom asked.

"Head of the Yakuza."

Tom had another flashback. "You know, I think we might have busted a gang hideout back in my Tokyo police days, we had a tip-off Noshimuri was there. Wasn't present, but we got some valuable intel. Now, anything you guys remember about Hiro?"

Steve replied, "When I first met him, he was having dinner with the governor."

"Hmm. Suspicious. Now, back to the ovals."

"Agreed. Now, Kono and Chin were involved in a car chase about a week later, suspect was driving an '01 Mustang. The car crashed, killing the driver." Steve sighed. "He was just an innocent young man trying to get some extra money by being a courier."

"And he found out the reality of it." Tom muttered. "Hell of a way to go."

"Indeed. We found a human head in a box that got thrown out when the car rolled. The guy never knew what the cargo was."

"May he rest in peace. Now, next?"

"Sam Hale, Coast Guard commander tried to steal $28 million while the streets were cleared due to a fake tsunami warning, he was driving an F-250 Super Duty at the TOA."

"Oh yeah, I read a newspaper article on that."

"You did?" Danny asked.

"That newspaper article was from about four or five weeks ago. I came to the island two and a half weeks ago, so yes, I was able to read the article."

"So to clarify, it was at this point that you arrived on the island."

"Yep."

"While you were away, we managed to get Julie Masters to the courthouse." Steve added. "We commandeered an assassin's truck."

"And what truck was that?" Tom asked.

"A 1992 Ford F-150."

Tom stood up. "Thank you for your time gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, I must be going now. Bye." He walked out of the room, and was soon back in his Coronado out on the open road.

* * *

><p>Parked up in the 60 Miles, Tom decided to play a game. He fired up his laptop, and inserted a copy of Euro Truck Simulator. He chose France as his starting country, and was soon in the truck dealer attempting to choose a truck. The Mercedes Benz Actros had a 12 liter V6 engine, 435HP, and cost 97,800 Euros. The Renault Magnum had a 10.8 liter V6, 410HP, and cost 94,800 Euros. The Scania R470 had a 12 liter V6, 470HP, and 95,700 Euros, and the Volvo FH16 had a 12.8 liter V6, 480HP, and cost 96,500 Euros. Each truck had a 9 speed gearbox, and the Mercedes and Scania had 590 liter fuel tanks, while the Renault and Volvo had 600 liter fuel tanks. Tom figured that the Renault was more fuel efficient, the Volvo was more powerful, and the Mercedes and the Scania were in the middle. Realizing that he probably wasn't going to come to a decision anytime soon, he quit the game and just decided to browse around truck manufacturer websites.<p>

He'd recognized the Mercedes Actros, liked the look of the Renault Magnum, found out that the Scania R-Series could be had with a V8 motor, browsed the Volvo FH page, and then he'd found out about other European trucks. From there, it was onto the MAN TGX, Iveco Stralis and DAF XF. Tom had to admit, he really liked these trucks, but decided that it would be impractical to import a European truck to Hawaii when the American trucks looked just as good and could do the job just as well. 680 horsepower in the MAN TGX V8 sounded really great though.

With that out of the way, Tom decided to install a new computer program he'd bought. It was a program designed for truck drivers like him, and once he'd installed it, he decided to dive in. The map showed his current position and heading, and showed him where useful locations were, such as warehouses, truck dealers and the 60 Miles. In cargo, he could see the cargo being offered by different companies for transport, the reward and where the cargo was and where it was expected to go. Management was obviously for company bosses, as it required a garage, and a worker and truck. Mail was for communication, and within minutes, the first mail had been received.

To: Tom Fortnell

From: Nick Aldrin

Subject: What do you think?

Hello Tom,

Hi there. I see you've got the brand new computer program I recommended. Great, huh? It's almost everything a truck driver needs. It won't drive the truck for you, but it'll take care of pretty much most things you need taken care of. I've got to go now, I'm currently being flooded with work. If I can't handle all the work, I'll drop you a line. Keep it between the ditches buddy.

Nick.

Afterwards, the second bit of mail had been received.

To: Tom Fortnell

From: Chin Ho Kelly

Subject: Five-0 Contract

Hi Tom,

Looks like getting us a driver has finally paid off. You've got a job brah. We have some forensic equipment Fong ordered for the lab. It's up in Kailua and bound for Honolulu. As per the terms of the contract, you will be getting a 20% share of the profits, which means $1,200 for you.

Good luck.

Chin Ho.

With a smile, Tom closed the program and climbed back into the driver's seat, firing up the Freightliner and setting off towards his next destination.

* * *

><p>I hope you don't mind this chapter. I worked hard on it, fast forwarding through episodes 2-16 and stopping to take details on each Ford vehicle. Another reason for the wait is because I was stuck on how to take this story forward. Writer's block sucks...<p> 


	6. Driving My Life Away

I do apoligize for the previous chapter. It was just a filler (again, I agree that writer's block sucks), so I promise to get more actual driving going on here. That, and a cameo from a special guest star...

* * *

><p>Tom arrived in Kailua and searched around for the depot. He found it and drove inside, stopping when he got to the warehouse entrance.<p>

"Hi there." He called as he got out.

"You Tom Fortnell?" The manager asked.

"Yeah. I'm here to pick up the forensic equipment."

"Oh right, just pull into bay 3 and we'll get the trailer over there."

Tom got back in the Coronado and drove into the warehouse. He guided it into bay 3, and stopped in the area designated. While waiting, he looked to his left. A Kenworth T-600 was in bay 1, and a Peterbilt 379 was just coming into bay 2. To his right, Tom saw a Freightliner Argosy in bay 4. Nick was driving, and he waved. Soon, the trailer came from storage, and Tom backed up until the trailer was neatly in line with the truck. He then got out and connected the brake lines. Happy that the trailer wouldn't go anywhere near Detroit, he got back inside the truck and fired it up.

Easing back out onto the road, Tom set the GPS for the police station, and shifted into 7th gear. He relaxed a little, enjoying the comfort of the seat. Being a truck built for on-highway long hauls, driver comfort was an important factor, and although he wasn't quite heading from San Francisco to New York (and he'd leave that to Jack Rourke), he still appreciated the comfy seats, the spacious interior and the sleeper cab. The engine had plenty of power, and he felt confident hauling any load. Really, he couldn't have bought a better truck. The styling suited him as well.

* * *

><p>His route took him on the 72 towards Maunawili, and then on the 61 to head into Honolulu from the North East, a journey of about 12 and a half miles. Even though this was a long haul truck, he'd still have to refuel in Nuuanu-Punchbowl. Refueling for only the third time since getting the truck wasn't bad though. And so, it was on the approach towards Honolulu that Tom found a gas station and pulled in. He parked next to the gas pump that wasn't covered by a gas shelter (he wasn't planning on getting his raised-roof cab or smokestacks modified), turned off the engine and got out. He unscrewed the fuel filler cap and fetched the pump nozzle, before inserting it into the tank and squeezing it. It took about thirty seconds for the long haul sized tank to fill up completely, after which Tom replaced the filler cap and repeating the process for the other tank. All in all, it was a $500 refill, but that still got him 318 liters of fuel. With refueling and paying done, Tom returned to the Freightliner and continued his journey.<p>

* * *

><p>In Honolulu, Tom searched around until he found the HPD building. He pulled in, and backed the trailer into the garage. It was no easy task, especially with the trailer being longer than the truck, but Tom managed to get it in without scraping. From there, it was the simple task of opening the trailer, and the not so simple task of carrying the equipment up to the crime lab.<p>

"Hey Fong!" Tom called while carrying a computer. "I've got the equipment you ordered!"

"Oh hey, thanks." The Hawaiian named Fong replied. "I've been waiting for this."

"Yeah." Tom put the computer down on the desk. "Plus the microscopes and the other things that are in the trailer down there."

"You're right. Come on, I'll help you with all this stuff." Tom couldn't help but notice a picture of him and Kono on the desk before they left.

Within an hour, all of the equipment had been unloaded, leaving the lab a slightly more cluttered place.

"Thanks." Fong said.

"No need." Tom answered. "I'm just doing my job."

* * *

><p>Next up was an interesting job. Tom was to head up to Waianae and transport a mobile office to Waipahu, with a superviser riding along in the truck. It was an oversize cargo, and it was probably overweight, but it was high paying, and Tom was willing to take on a new challenge.<p>

And so after a short drive and a snack bar, Tom found himself in Waianae waiting for the superviser. He could see the mobile office on the trailer, a big building that needed to be at the construction site. They were building a new hotel in Waipahu, and Tom figured he might just get a discount voucher. Soon, the superviser had arrived, and had climbed into the passenger seat.

"So what's your name?" Tom asked.

"Stanley Edwards, property developer." Stan answered.

"Edwards, huh? Name sounds familiar."

"I guess so."

"Is your wife called Rachel?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Ah, so that's why I find the name familiar! Let's go." Tom turned the ignition key and started up the Freightliner Coronado. He swung around, backed up to the trailer, attached it, and was soon off.

* * *

><p>Out on the road, Tom was carefully driving, checking his mirrors constantly and cycling through the gears to keep his truck in the ideal rev range for maximum torque. Stan was relaxing in the passenger seat, observing Tom and his driving.<p>

"You seem to be looking in the mirror quite a lot." He observed.

"Just keeping an eye on the trailer. You never know when it could be detatched or scrape on something. If this isn't wide, I dunno what is." Tom explained. "Of course, if you've been around me a bit longer, you'll know it's my excuse to check for any tails or suspicious activity."

"Huh?"

"I'm just a paranoid old fart who served 6 years in Afghanistan as a soldier, and then 3 as a cop in Tokyo."

"You're not old, you're barely past 32!"

"Hey, while I'm driving, just agree..."

Their conversation continued for most of the journey, and eventually, they were in Waipahu, where Tom pulled into the construction site. As was expected from such a high-caliber driver as Fortnell, the mobile office didn't even have a scratch.

"Are you even serious?" Stan questioned after examining the spotless paintwork of the mobile office.

"Heh, don't panic, you'll wake up from the dream soon." Tom said. Stan began to walk over to the more permanent office, but he tripped and fell flat in a mud puddle. As Tom went to help him up, he added, "Or not."

* * *

><p>Later on in the day, Tom was sat in a diner, looking at the trucks parked outside while sipping a Fanta fizzy drink. There was an episode of Mad Men playing on a TV near the bar, and Tom suspected that was why it was strangely quiet. Someone walked in, but Tom only heared as his attention was still on the trucks outside. The person marched over to Tom's table, and sat down on a seat opposite Tom's.<p>

"Hello." The man greeted.

"Hi." Tom answered, still not looking away from the window.

"I would just like to know what your involvement is with Steve McGarrett."

"Can't say I know the guy too well. I'm just a truck driver." Tom finally looked at the guest. He had dark skin and black hair, as well as a hint of evil about him.

"So, tell me, what is your job right now?"

"Truck driver. I just deliver cargos where they're needed. Nothing special."

"Oh." The man got up to leave. "And do you know anything about Shelburne?

"Never even heard that word. Who are you anyway?"

"Wo Fat." With that, the man turned and walked out of the diner. Tom thought the name was a little suspicious and turned his head to look at the man's retreating form.

* * *

><p>Short, I know... Writer's block... Yeah. You know the drill. Anyway, please leave feedback, and we'll get to the next chapter soon. Pirates, hostages, and Tom gets his first taste of action in Powa Maka Moana! Meanwhile, I'll see if I can get a forum set up to discuss and post ideas for this story.<p>

I can also announce that I am now officially accepting original character requests for this story. I doubt that there will be many (or any) but interested authors should get in touch via the PM system so we can reach an agreement.

Until next time!


	7. Powa Maka Moana

AussieJo helped me by adding some suggestions for this story, so I would like to give them a thanks. Also, I'm not sure if I really should set up a forum for this. What do you think?

AussieJo: Tom probably would run over Wo Fat with his truck, but at this point, he wouldn't even know who Wo Fat is. Besides, an automatic burst of gunfire would be more his style.

loveRnB: Yeah, I will try to be regular in my updates, but I think I'm onto a winner with my new Cars story, so I'll be juggling this and that.

* * *

><p>At 10:00am, Tom was jogging towards the Food Pantry, his backpack full of packaged food bound for the supermarket. The load was small enough to not need a truck the size of his Coronado, and the distance between the point of origin and the Food Pantry was short enough that Tom figured he'd economise and save fuel by legging it to the delivery point.<p>

So here he was, jogging down South King Street with a rather heavy backpack. He was used to it though, lessons learned from Afghanistan were still in his mind. He calculated his route, and decided that he'd keep going until he reached Kalakaua Avenue and then keep going until he reached the delivery point.

"Hi there." Chin Ho said as he jogged up beside Tom.

"Hello." Tom replied.

"What's in the backpack?"

"Oh, just some packaged food. I'm saving some fuel and getting some exercise while I'm at it." Tom continued jogging.

"You know, I think we might go down to the firing range together sometime."

"Probably. Just not the fairground ones. I hit the target all the time so many times I figure I'm banned from every one in the country."

Chin Ho laughed at that one. "I guess that can describe Steve as well."

"Speaking of Steve, where is he right now?"

"He's with Danny driving his '74 Mercury."

"He managed to get it operational?"

"Yes." Chin paused. "For about 9 miles..."

"Is that a guess or an answer?"

"Just a guess." Chin's phone started ringing. He pulled it to his ear and listened in. After about a minute, he put it away.

"We've got a call." Tom assumed.

"Yes. And you're coming along."

"I'm not even going to bother protesting that I'm a truck driver..."

* * *

><p>"According to the tour operator the boat left the dock yesterday afternoon, with 12 college kids and two crew onboard out of Waikiki." Steve briefed the crew as their boat rocketed towards the crime scene. "When it didn't return, the Coast Guard set up a search grid this morning. When they finally spotted the vessel from the air, all the passengers were gone, and they saw what looked like two dead bodies up on th deck."<p>

"Only two?" Chin asked. "What happened to the other 12?"

Tom checked his Kimber M1911. "And since this counts as terrorism, Five-0 got the call, I presume?"

"Hey, there she is." Kono pointed to the catamaran. Tom took a look through the binoculars. The boat was adrift with no one on board and the sail was full of holes. A helicopter flew overhead as their boat went in beside the catamaran. Everyone pulled out their guns and went aboard. Danny was first, followed by Steve, and then Chin and Kono. Tom was last, sweeping his M4 Carbine across the boat in case the attackers had left someone behind to welcome Five-0 aboard.

"Steve." Danny called, Tom beside him.

"Yeah?" McGarrett answered.

"I got three gunshot wounds, looks like could be automatic weapons." One person was lying there in a pool of blood with three holes in him.

"Those holes appear to be 7.62mm, either a three round heavy caliber assault rifle burst or lucky shots with a semi auto sniper rifle." Tom delivered his verdict.

"Our second vic took two to the chest." Steve noted as he looked at the masked body. With one movement, he took the mask off. "This guy looks local. Could be Tongan."

Chin walked over. "If he is, it could be the work of Tongan pirates. They're all over the crime bulletins lately for attacking charter boats on the coast."

"I've read about that, but that's just random hits, small boats, sailboats." Danny replied. "And just stickups. Nobody was ever murdered."

"Yeah, or grabbed. Remember, we still got 12 passengers that are missing. But if you're right, these guys have seriously upped their game."

"Check it out." Steve pointed out. "The captain was strapped." There was a hat and a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver near the body of the captain.

"With all the attacks in the news, he'd be dumb not to be." Chin added.

"With the bodies falling in the position they did, it looks like a firefight. Captain was defending the attack, took this guy down with him."

"I dunno." Tom replied. "These holes look like 7.62mm, not the .357 Magnum the cap's revolver uses."

"Steve, check this out." Kono walked over to the rest of the crew.

"What did you get?" The SEAL in question answered.

"The four gunmen and one boat." Kono showed camera phone footage of the attackers approaching as shot by one of the kids.

"Good. Stabilize that image and enhance it. See if we can't get a better look at who did this." Steve raised his voice. "In the meantime, we need to tow this boat to shore, let our crime techs do a full sweep."

As they began to walk off, there was a clattering voice. Tom was the first to whip around and raise his rifle at the source of the noise, followed by the rest of Five-0. There was another thud, and it was clear that it was coming from the door. Tom mentally drew the short straw and stepped forward. He let his left hand go of the M4's foregrip and kept his right arm on the trigger, flicking it to semi automatic as he did so. He reached his left hand forward and opened the door to reveal a female crew member taking cover inside the compartment.

* * *

><p>Back on shore, Steve and Danny questioned the crew member and found that the kids had been forced onto another boat, and also found out that the gunmen had been armed with AK-47s, Russian automatic rifles chambered for 7.62x39mm bullets, confirming Tom's observations about the dead captain being shot with a burst from a heavy caliber assault rifle.<p>

* * *

><p>Back at headquarters, Kono showed the stabilised-but-still-crappy-quality cell phone footage. There were only a few good frames showing two of the attackers, and both were wearing ski masks. However, biometric data was being collected to run comparisons when a suspect turned up.<p>

"So the HPD pulled the passenger manifest from the tour operator." Kono continued. "Ran their names. All of them from the mainland, East Coast, college age. Now, some of them went to the same school and flew in together, but there's no rap sheets, no sealed juvie records. Nothing to show that this wasn't a random attack."

Danny entered the room. "I just got off the phone with the FBI. Good news is that the kids are still alive. Bad news is that they have been kidnapped. Two hours ago, the parents started receiving ransom demands. The FBI was called, but the governor's smooth put the brakes on that. She wants us running with the case because we're the ones who caught it.

"OK, good." Steve answered. "What about this ransom?"

"Twenty million dollars. Yeah."

Danny continued, "Each of the parents received a call on their cell phone, the same exact call. And unlike having lunch with you, they don't care how the check is split. They just want the money.

"Yeah." Kono agreed. "Someone knew these kid's parents have money."

"It's highly likely these guys were targeted." Steve noted.

"Or our pirates got lucky." Chin piped in. "They realized what they had, decided to go for the crazy money."

"I agree with Steve here." Tom spoke. "When I transferred to Special Ops, I did a stint off the coast of Somalia helping to combat piracy. In many cases, the pirates specifically targeted fishing boats, cargo ships, supertankers, and lone private vessels, demanding large amounts of ransom money. For example, in 2009, the MV Ariana was released after a payment of almost $3 million."

"I want to talk to the parents." Steve declared.

"Well, the first couple just landed." Danny informed Steve. "I got the call on the west coast. The other ones are still in the air."

"Fine, have HPD bring them in. Meantime, we'll set up a holding area at the Hilton for the other families. Make sure grief counsellors are standing by. These people are gonna land. They're gonna have questions. Let's get some answers."

* * *

><p>"<em>Listen to me very carefully. If you want to see your kid alive again, you'll do exactly what we ask."<em>

"_How do I know you have my daughter? How do I know she's alive?"_

"_...Daddy?"_

"_Josie?"_

"_Daddy, I'm so scared."_

"_It's gonna be OK, I promise."_

"_There's your proof of life. Now get the money, or we'll send you proof of death."_

Tom and Steve stopped listening to the recording. They were in Steve's office with the father and mother of one of the hostages.

"Please. She's our little girl." The father pleaded. "You have to find her."

"We will. Rest assured, we are doing everything we can." Tom said. "We can offer no guarantees though, but we will keep trying."

* * *

><p>Tom was heading towards the Hilton in his '87 Camaro. The phone rang, and he set it to hands-free.<p>

"Fortnell here, what have you got for me?" He asked.

"OK, we're with Kamekona, he says there was a kidnapping a couple of years ago." Steve answered. "Young couple from Dubai with big money were killed when the drop went bad. Word on the street was a rouge Tongan gang did it."

"Got it." Tom hung up, until Chin called.

"Tom, you need to listen to this. Autopsy came back on the two bodies, time of death was a day apart."

"I thought the holes in the second vic were different to the cap's revolver's rounds."

"If the pirate was killed a day before the attack, he could've been dumped on the boat."

"Throw us off the trail."

"Now get this. Looks like you were right Tom, 7.62 slugs were pulled out of the second vic's body, AK type rounds. Where'd you get your knowledge with firearms?"

"I spent 6 years in the army, I know my way around a firing range."

Tom hung up, but a call from Steve made him accept again.

"What's up this time?"

"Kamekona spat out a name, pawn shop owner in Kahili by the name of Big Lono. Place could be used to shift stolen goods, so he'll probably know about our suspects."

"OK. I'm heading to the Hilton. Don't do anything stupid."

"Can't guarantee it, no." Danny quipped before the call was ended.

* * *

><p>Tom drove for another 5 minutes before he received news that was enough to divert him to Mililani. Big Lono had given them a lead that their men were at the Launani Valley. Five-0 were moving in on a house with SWAT, and Tom decided to join them.<p>

One officer opened the door and rushed in, the rest following.

"Put your hands where I can see them!"

There were a few men inside.

"Don't move. Don't move."

By now, Steve, Chin and Tom had entered the house.

"Hey, bro, you can't go in there."

"Hey, you, shut up." Steve responded with his shotgun.

Meanwhile, Tom joined a SWAT officer in clearing the house.

"Clear."

"Secure."

"Back room clear."

"Kitchen is secure."

"Place is clear." Tom reported.

"No sign of hostages." Kono added.

"Then where the hell are they?" Steve asked.

* * *

><p>Later, at the Hilton in Waikiki, Tom had just finished his checks. He had found out from Steve that the guys they busted in the raid weren't the attackers. He'd also found out that this was possibly a frame job. Informed on the latest developments, he awaited the arrival of his colleagues. With the team now back together, they went in to be confronted by the sight of the parents, as well as the expected barrage of questions.<p>

"Any word? Anything?"

"Please. Have you heard?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll answer all your questions, I promise." Steve got straight to business. "My name is Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. I run the Five-0 taskforce for the state of Hawaii. And along with the Honolulu Police Department, I want to assure you that we are doing absolutely everything possible to find your children."

"We're hearing that you have some people in custody. Is that true?"

"We do have some suspects in custody right now."

"If they're in custody, where are our children?"

"At this point, we have no evidence linking these men to what happened." Danny answered.

Tom noticed a man hanging near to a couple. Excusing himself, he went towards the man.

"Sir, I'm Tom Fortnell with Five-0." He introduced himself. "Who are you?"

The man replied, "Analu Lakona."

"Right. I'm going to need you to come with me."

* * *

><p>Outside, Tom immediately turned hostile.<p>

"I need to know who you are. Who you really are." He said with venom in his voice.

"Analu Lakona." Analu remained calm.

"So that's your name right? What do you do?"

"I'm a truck driver. I've run cargo up and down these islands for the past 10 years."

"Well what's a truck driver doing with those parents, huh?"

"Alright..." Lakona sighed. "I'm also a bounty hunter and private investigator. I have contacts with police departments, mayors offices, foreign embassies, and I crack any case that comes my way. I've been hired by Mr Morris Brown to track down his missing son Justin."

After a tense few moments, Tom finally relented and backed away. "OK. Just remember, this falls under murder and terrorism and so is in Five-0's jurisdiction." He began to walk back to the Honolulu suite.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Lakona called.

Tom hesitated for a moment. "Just stay the hell out of our way."

* * *

><p>"Look, if you don't know where they are, why don't you just let us pay the ransom and we can bring our kids home?"<p>

"That would be a bad idea, sir." Steve reported. "Mister...?"

"Brown. It's Morris Brown, and this is my son." Brown stepped up to Steve and showed him a picture. "Justin."

Steve studied the picture. "Mr Brown, all of you, what's very important right now is that you're patient in a situation like this. We will find your kids. But you must understand that nothing positive will be gained by paying this ransom, OK? I've handled many kidnapping cases personally. And one misstep from any one of us, this can end very, very badly."

"I think you're wrong. You're wrong." Brown objected, before turning to the other parents. "This is just a piece of business for these guys. They're just in it for the money. If that's what brings our kids back, let them have it."

"What I need you all to do right now is to trust us. Just like all of you, I've been on the other end of that call. And believe me, I understand, it is the worst feeling. It's the worst feeling in the world. But right now, you need to be strong, OK? You need to be strong for your kids and you need to let us handle this. As soon as we know something significant, you will be the first to hear, you have my word."

"So what you're really saying is you don't know anything?"

After a few seconds pause, the team left the room, Tom giving Lakona a distrustful glare on the way.

"What are the real chances of getting these kids back alive?" Kono asked.

"When my father was kidnapped," Steve replied, "I knew from prior experience that no matter what move I made on that day, the results were not gonna be good, OK? In these situations, they rarely are. We're gonna change that. We're gonna get these kids back and we're gonna get them back alive."

Chin asked Tom, "What was that business back there?"

"We have another player in the game." Tom replied.

* * *

><p>Back at headquarters, Tom learned from Kono that none of the kids had actually paid for the cruise. One person had paid in cash for all 12 tickets. As well, some of the kids stayed at different hotels and ate at different restaurants. The thing they had in common was they all had a bar tab at the Storm Club the afternoon before the kidnapping. And according to the credit card companies, they had spent some money there today. That meant that the kids had had their credit cards stolen, and whoever did it could lead Five-0 to the kidnapped kids.<p>

So while Chin and Kono were at the club ("Four-year college tuition, "$200,000. Books and supplies, $5,000. Room and board, $25,000. Passing out with two cocktail olives up your nose?" "Priceless."), they had found that Bobby had an interest in running away when the pair had asked about who was working the bar. They also found that he had served drinks to the kids, and had kept imprints of their cards, ran some charges and kept the cash. However, in terms of kidnapping, he was a dud. So while Bobby was being carted away for six months probation, Moku recalled that there was a man who was older than the rest of the crowd, who snuck into the VIP section.

At headquarters, everyone saw security footage of the kidnapped kids. The entire group. They noticed a guy, who matched the biometric data from the camera phone footage of one of the pirates. The guy went into the VIP section and gave the kids tickets for the catamaran cruise. Apparently, this was the guy who had paid the tour operator for all 12 tickets in cash. He targeted the kids and put them on the boat to be kidnapped.

In the middle of the conversation, Steve's phone rang.

"This is McGarrett." Steve spoke.

"Steve, this is Sgt Lukela. Someone just called into HPD asking to talk to the person running the investigation. We got them on hold."

"OK, patch them through. Run a trace."

"Patching through now."

"_Who is this?" _It was the same distorted voice as in the recording.

"Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett."

"_What kind of game do you think you're playing, cop?"_

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"_I'm talking about the money. You think I didn't know these parents would go to the cops? I expected that. What I did not expect is for you to be playing with their kid's lives. Now where's the rest?"_

"OK, hang on a second. We haven't paid any money."

"_We gave very simple instructions and you blew it! You had to test us, didn't you?"_

"Listen to me, alright? I don't know what you're talking..."

"_Enough! Enough games!"_

"Alright, listen. Calm down, OK? Calm down. Let's talk about this. Killing people is not gonna get you that money, you understand?"

"_Well it's too late for that."_

"What are you talking about? What did you do? Hey, what did you...? What the hell have you done?"

"_I'm gonna call again directly in one hour with new instructions. I suggest you follow them exactly this time." _He hung up.

"Did you get that?" Steve asked.

"Got him." Kono replied. "He's calling from Sand Island."

Steve, Danny and Tom rushed out.

"Now where's the rest?" Tom commented. "I don't like the sound of that."

* * *

><p>The two Camaros pulled up to a beach at Sand Island. The three men got out, guns drawn, and proceeded towards the beach.<p>

"Danny?" Steve asked. "No." The thing they were rushing towards made Tom lower his rifle.

It was Justin's dead body.

"Oh man."

Something had gone terribly wrong.

Tom heard a truck approaching and turned around to find a red Western Star 4900 pull up, the driver getting out.

"Look at that. Down there." Tom waved his rifle in the direction of Justin's body.

"I don't understand." Lakona commented. "How could they kill him? Especially after they got the money."

Tom's mind flashed back to the phonecall.

"_I'm talking about the money. You think I didn't know these parents would go to the cops? I expected that. What I did not expect is for you to be playing with their kid's lives. Now where's the rest?"_

"_OK, hang on a second. We haven't paid any money."_

"_We gave very simple instructions and you blew it! You had to test us, didn't you?"_

"_Listen to me, alright? I don't know what you're talking..."_

"_Enough! Enough games!"_

"_Alright, listen. Calm down, OK? Calm down. Let's talk about this. Killing people is not gonna get you that money, you understand?"_

"_Well it's too late for that."_

"So it's about the money, huh? Morris really did refuse Steve's advice..." Tom turned around and tensed up, his M4 aimed directly in Lakona's face, the holographic sight projecting an aiming point right between his eyes. "Why couldn't you stop them from making the bloody payment? Explain to me exactly what happened!"

"After they left," Lakona explained. "The parents got calls from the kidnappers asking if they had the money. The others wanted Five-0 to handle it. Mr Brown just wanted his son back. So he put $400,000 in a backpack and thought that it would be enough to at least let Justin go free."

Tom lowered the rifle. "And now that kid's dead because of him. If you had stopped Morris from making the payment, Justin might still be alive! In custody, but alive! Why the hell didn't you stop him?"

"Look, we just wanted the best possible outcome for this situation..."

"And now, they've got a dead son, and you've got a blot on your reputation!" Tom stormed back to his Camaro. "How are you going to get out of this one, Dog The Bounty Hunter?"

* * *

><p>Back at headquarters, the team had found that the bullets used to kill Justin had been the same ones used to shoot the two vics on the boat, but a phonecall stopped any further conversation.<p>

As Kono ran a trace, Steve spoke, "You didn't have to kill the kid."

"_No. But I did get your attention, didn't I?"_

"You think you're gonna get away with this? It's a small island. I'm gonna find you."

"_Ha-ha-ha. I don't think so Steve. You have one hour to get the money together or the remaining hostages die. There will be a bus full of kids parked in a location that I will give you the address to next time I call. Once you deliver the money, we'll all go to the Honolulu Airport. Make sure there's a private plane, fully fueled and ready to go. And once my associates are on the plane, the hostages will be released."_

"You never mentioned a plane, OK? I need more time."

"_You don't have it. One hour."_

"OK. I'll be there."

"_No, no, YOU won't be there. You think I'm walking into a trap?"_

"Who do you want to deliver the money?"

"_Make it the girl from the paper this morning. The one that got away last time."_

"OK, she's a civilian. You know I can't do that. I will drop the money personally. I'll be unarmed. You have my word, OK?"

"_No cops. I smell a setup, the kids die. Understand? Susan makes the exchange by herself."_

Tom realised that the name Susan wasn't in that newspaper report, and the female crew member's name wasn't there either. He drew the connection between Susan and the crew member.

Steve continued talking, "Listen, I can't let her do that."

"_You don't understand. You don't have a choice. She's the only one I know is definitely not a cop."_

"I need more time."

"_You have 59 minutes. You wanna waste any more of it talking to me? I didn't think so."_ The guy hung up, making the trace fail.

"Get him?" Steve asked.

"He dropped the call before we got him." Kono reported.

"HPD might have a lookalike we can send in undercover." Chin thought.

"We don't have time." Tom objected. "And the guys might smell a trap."

"You're not seriously considering using Susan, are you?" Kono questioned.

"She's the only one who can do this job." Steve answered.

"So I noticed that Susan's name was not in the newspaper." Tom noted. "And the kidnapper said he saw her name in the newspaper." He looked up to face Steve. "How do you want to go with this, LT?"

"OK, do you know of anything non-lethal that we could put in the bag?"

"I know from personal experience in the Stan that these things pack a hell of a punch." Tom held up an object.

"Good. Thanks for your suggestion."

"No need to thank me. I'm just doing my job. And if we don't do this, those kids are dead."

* * *

><p>At 44 Industrial Way, there was a warehouse. Susan would walk the money in and she'd be brought out in the bus with the hostages and released at the airport. It was a high risk plan, but one that had to work.<p>

While an officer was looking with a thermal camera, Danny pointed out that the hostages were already on the bus. There was also movement in the warehouse with guns, and he assumed that it was the kidnappers. Susan was being equipped with an earpiece that would enable her to listen to everything Chin and the team said.

As Susan walked towards the warehouse, Tom made sure his M4A1 was ready. This was going to go just fine. Susan entered the warehouse and was told to do exactly as the kidnappers said. She kept walking until she reached the bus, which is when she dropped the bag. The lead kidnapper opened the bag to find that there was something there. Phonebooks.

"What the hell? WHERE IS IT?"

Tom chuckled as he pressed the button and the flashbang stun grenades all went off. There were almighty bangs and flashes, and it felt and sounded like God Himself was raining down all his fury on the warehouse. While the hostages and Susan were blinded, deafened and generally disoriented, the team accompanied by SWAT officers made entry. Danny, Chin, Kono and the officers apprehended Susan and the kidnappers while Tom and Steve chased after the lead kidnapper.

The kidnapper jumped through a window, followed by Tom and Steve. The kidnapper dashed towards a tram and ordered the driver to drive. Tom and Steve jumped up on a car and made a flying leap into the tram. When the kidnapper noticed the new passengers, Tom fired three shots from his M1911 into the guy, killing him. Steve went to check on him, while Tom just lay there, overcome with exhaustion.

* * *

><p>Back at the warehouse, Danny and Duke congratulated Tom on figuring out that Susan was in on it.<p>

"Well, me and Steve figured that she was in cahoots with the attackers because the lead kidnapper said he saw her name in the newspaper. Of course, the name was never published. The only way he could know her name was because he knew her already." Tom explained.

* * *

><p>While the rest of Five-0 reunited the kids with immensely relieved parents, Tom left to take care of unfinished business. It was 11:00pm when his blue Camaro IROC-Z pulled up next to the Food Pantry, and he got out, marched into the building, exhaled sharply, left the backpack full of packaged food at the checkout and walked out again.<p>

* * *

><p>I hope you enjoyed this chapter, at 4,900 words, easily the longest chapter I have ever written. Seriously, I wrote this for 5 hours, stopping only for a lunch break and to go to the toilet.<p>

Also, I would like to give credit to andrewjeeves for allowing his OC, Analu Lakona to star in this story. If anyone wants their original characters to feature in this story, then please get in touch via PM.

Finally, I am still wondering whether to set up a forum for the Kalaka series of stories, so feedback would be appreciated. 3-5 votes for the poll on my profile page, then I'll make a decision.

Thank you for sticking with me. *Faints from exhaustion*


	8. Loa Aloha

First off, I've already set up the forum. It should be at the bottom of the list, so swing by if you want to.

Next, only one review for the last chapter. I'll reply to it here:

loveRnB: I guess watching the episode on Blu-Ray while I wrote the chapter worked then?

Finally, I would like to thank everyone for making this my most read story in almost a year. Nearly 2,000 hits may not be special to you guys, but for me it's an all time record.

Time to move onto Loa Aloha!

* * *

><p>This morning was an early start for Tom, as he was up, ready to go and on the road by 8 o' clock. Pulling a load of computers down from Pearl Harbor towards Honolulu (yep, same route as his first delivery), Tom planned to complete the delivery, then swing by his new garage. He'd recently bought a garage, with an office and enough space to store two to three trucks. It would be one of the first steps towards eventually starting his own company.<p>

Heading east on Farrington Highway heading towards Kamehameha Highway, Tom wasn't pushing the truck too hard. Not braking too hard, not revving too high, not putting it in a higher gear than absolutely neccesary. Suddenly, he saw a car parked on the side of the road, and as he got closer, he could identify it as a yellow Chevrolet Impala with black bumpers and a taxi sign on the top. Tom pulled over and got out.

"Anything wrong?" He asked as he walked over to the taxi, which had it's hood open.

"Ah, oui." The woman who Tom presumed to be the passenger replied. "Our taxi has broken down." Even in this light breeze, Tom could pick out the brunette's French accent.

"That sucks." Tom walked over to the front of the Impala, and was immediately greeted by a face full of smoke. "Oof. You're not gonna be able to fix that in a hurry here. I guess this requires an expert mechanic."

"Oh dear."

Tom had an idea. "You heading to Honolulu?"

"Oui. Why are you asking me?"

"Come on." He motioned for the woman to follow. "I'll give you a lift."

Inside the Coronado, things were getting better for the woman. She'd introduced herself as Valerie Camille. She was indeed French, having grown up in Paris. Her parents had moved to Hawaii and Valerie had enjoyed her new home, but Paris was still good. She had dark brown hair, brown eyes and had a smile that could make your heart melt. She was kind, enjoyed drinking French wine, and to be honest didn't seem to mind her new Freightliner-manufactured taxi. In fact, Tom, usually avoiding a romatic relationship was actually starting to soften a bit. He still was a hopeless romantic, but the look she'd given him suggested that maybe she was starting to fall for him.

* * *

><p>Tom had ONLY just finished his delivery and dropped Valerie off at the Hilton, when his phone rang.<p>

"Yup." Was all he said before he dashed off.

At the Kawailoa Forest Reserve, Tom got out of his brand new blue Chevrolet Camaro 2SS.

"SITREP?" He interrogated.

"OK, here's the deal." Danny explained. "A judge and his daughter were ziplining here when the zipline collapsed. With the judge's daughter on it."

"With the obvious drawback of not being able to question her."

"Right. Steve and Chin are up there searching, Super SEAL has informed me we may be looking at remote explosive sabotage."

"Got it."

As Tom turned to leave, Danny took a look at Tom's blue Camaro SS next to his own silver Camaro RS. "Damn, I hate that guy." He muttered.

Tom joined Chin in his investigation. The Asian found some tire marks, and so he knelt down to take a picture. Tom, in his enthusiastic, investigative and slightly eccentric way, lay down prone on his stomach to have a look at the tire tracks.

"Looks like a mid/full size SUV or a 1500 pickup." Tom reported as he got up close and personal with the marks.

"Makes sense." Chin replied. "Either one of them or a rally car, and you know which one I'd take if I didn't want to get caught."

"A dirt bike?"

* * *

><p>At the now familiar headquarters of Five-0, Chin presented his photo of the tracks.<p>

"So me and Tom found these tire tracks in an area that's usually off limits to vehicles. They're recent, and they're well within sight of the platform.

"You get a hit from HPD database?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. According to the size, depth, tread pattern and Tom's observation, looks like our suspect was driving a late model SUV or a light pickup. Once we get a suspect, we can pull a match.

"OK, Danny." Steve responded. "Any luck tracing the phone call to the judge?"

"No, the phone's a burner. It's completely untraceable. But the HPD bomb squad, they checked out the fragments that you found and they said it's from an RF receiver usually found in walkie-talkies or remote-control cars. They're doing chemical analysis on the explosives right now."

Tom delivered his verdict, "OK, so if this guy is smart, I suppose he could wire up said walkie-talkie or remote-control to act as a trigger for the explosives."

"Alright. Kono." Steve continued. "What do you got?"

"Been trying to get a hold of the judge's threat file. Deputy prosecutor's in court all day." Kono reported.

"Threat file?"

"Prosecutor's Office has a team of investigators whose sole job is to keep track of written or verbal threats against the bench."

"Basically just weed out the whack jobs." Danny translated. "So depending on how heavy the threat, they either do or do not pass it onto the feds."

"What we're looking for is someone who matches our killer's profile so far. Male, violent, history with explosives and an axe to grind."

"Makes sense." Chin added. "With cops, judges, anyone who puts away hardened criminals, suspect pool will be pretty deep."

"OK," Steve wrapped it all up, "So if we're focusing on violent felony cases the judge has presided over, how deep is this suspect pool we're talking about?" Kono simply touched something on the tech desk and sent thousands of mugshots onto the monitor.

"That's a suspect pool?" Tom questioned. "More like a suspect ocean."

"Ugh. OK, uh, we need to whittle this down. In the meantime, let's make sure Judge Kamalei's personal security detail has a picture of every one of these guys. When this killer comes back for the judge, we're gonna be ready."

* * *

><p>Next morning (After Steve and Danny had met Matt, Danny's brother, as well as two FBI agents), Tom learned that Kamalei was a hanging judge, putting away a lot of violent offenders, and not many actually got back out on the street. Drew Parisi was their most likely suspect, after Deputy Prosecutor Chen had told them about Parisi and his arson conviction. Drew was a suspect because he'd burned down his ex-wife's house, he had technical skills and he'd attacked the judge in open court. Finally, he'd been paroled three weeks ago. Likely enough time to get together the equipment and intelligence needed for a revenge op against Kamalei.<p>

Tom was in his Camaro prowling the streets while the rest of Five-0 were on a raid at the Waihawa Apartment Complex where Parisi was staying. While he was busy driving along, he heard a boom. Flicking on the lights, he rushed over to the source of the noise, where he saw a car which looked like it had just exploded.

Indeed it had, so he joined Five-0 in their investigation (after exlaining to Valerie what he was doing there).

"Microchip." The trucker pointed out as Steve picked up the object.

Chin walked over. "Hey."

"Hey." Steve answered.

"What'd he say about the call?" Tom asked.

"Same as Kamalei. Unknown number, male voice, "hope you said goodbye.""

"You OK?"

"I will be once we find this scumbag."

"Well..." Tom stood up and scanned the surroundings. "There WERE bystanders here. Kono's collecting cell phones, video cameras, anything capable of taking a picture at the time of explosion. The net is closing for this guy, and it could be third time lucky for us."

"Or third time lucky for him." Chin replied grimly.

"At least we know this guy's sight isn't just aimed at Kamalei."

"And we know it's not Parisi." Steve picked up the commentary.

"No, we were there with him at the exact time the bomb went off." Chin added.

"That's right. And if this bomb was detonated by a remote trigger, then the bomber had to have been close by."

Chin looked down at the chip in Steve's hand. "Is that a piece of the RF receiver?"

"It is. This one's largely intact. Got a partial serial number right there."

"Nice. I'll run it down, see if we can find out where it came from."

"Alright. Hey, how goes the canvassing?" Steve asked an approaching Kono.

"Good. Got a lot of foot traffic, tourists taking photos. So I collected all their cameras and cell phones. See what we get."

"And this isn't just about Kamalei anymore." Tom continued. "We want to find out who this guy is, we look at Kamalei AND Chen's cases."

"My question is, if it's about revenge, why not go after them?" Kono asked. "Why target their kids?"

"That I cannot explain." Tom finished. "But he may have lost a son or a daughter. He could be trying to get back at Kamalei and Chen by taking away the same thing that he lost: the child he loved."

* * *

><p>At the palace, Steve, Kono and Tom were looking at the collected photos before and after the explosion, keeping an eye out for any SUVs or other utility vehicles.<p>

"What's that right there?" Steve pointed something out. "Blow that up Kono. Put it up here for me."

The photo was enlarged and put up on the screen. "Red Ford Explorer SUV, kind of vehicle that could have made the tracks at the forest." Tom noted.

"Wheel wells are muddy too." Steve concurred. "What about the treads?"

With a simple operation, Kono managed to get a match, with the P245/5417 tire being the same as the one that had made the tire tracks. Unfortunately, there wasn't a clear shot of the license plate, but there was something that looked like a rental tag on the bumper.

So while Steve went off to answer a phonecall, Kono and Tom got to work contacting every agency which had rented out a red Ford Explorer.

* * *

><p>Afterwards, Tom joined Chin at a remote-control model shop, one of the only ones to sell the advanced T-9 Sabrecat remote-control airplane.<p>

"I actually delivered a bunch of Sabrecats the week before." Tom pointed out.

Chin questioned the store owner, who told them that a guy came in looking to buy last week. He was a haole (Tom was proud of himself for finally starting to pick up on a few Hawaiian words. Another one he'd learned was Kalaka, meaning truck.), with dark hair and a goatee, and a full-on paniolo style in terms of clothing. All in all, not a local. The cowboy had bought three of the T-9s, and each remote-control had a range of one thousand feet, which meant that the tire tracks at the forest, and the Explorer at the car bomb site were well within range of the victims. The fact that three had been bought confirmed Tom's suspicion of the controllers being re-wired to become detonators, but also, it meant that there was enough supplies for this whack job to make and detonate another bomb. Five-0 HAD to move.

* * *

><p>"I cross-checked red SUV rentals with cases involving both Kamalei and Chen and I got a hit." Kono sent a license up onto a monitor. It was a Wyoming driver's license issued to a Travis Roan. "Travis Roan, age 49. Current resident of Cheyenne, Wyoming. No local address and he used to work on a demo team."<p>

"Experience." Tom noted. "From making buildings go boom to making cars and ziplines go boom. He knows what he's doing."

"So he knows his way around a construction site," Chin said. "And spent seven years in a Wyoming State pen for aggrevated assault."

"OK." Steve responded. "But Wyoming, I don't understand. Was he tried here?"

"No." Kono replied. "But his son was."

Another picture was put up on the screen.

"Thomas Roan."

"20 years old." Chin pointed out. "Got 18 months for a DUI."

"What?"

"Then got stabbed in a mess hall fight. Died in prison ten days ago."

"Oh man."

"And Kamalei and Chen put him there, right?" Chin simply nodded, and Steve flashed back to what Tom had said previously.

"_But he may have lost a son or a daughter. He could be trying to get back at Kamalei and Chen by taking away the same thing that he lost: the child he loved."_

"Tom was onto something. This guy's looking for payback for his dead son."

"So I pulled Thomas' case and I spoke to the judge," Kono put photos of Kamalei and Chen on the monitor, "Trying to figure out our last potential target. Maybe an arresting officer, a key witness. But all Judge Kamalei remembers about the case was the flood of appeals that came after his verdict."

"Who filed the appeals?" Chin asked.

"Thomas' mom. Court paperwork shows a local address for her. Maybe she can help us find Travis Roan."

* * *

><p>At the Kuhio Beach Motel in Honolulu, Steve was the first to bust in. They had found out from Mrs Roan that Thomas was pulled for a DUI. They had to make an example of him, and so sentenced him to 18 months. Travis, being a former felon, wasn't allowed to visit his son, and so never got to say goodbye. Now, they were certain he was out for revenge.<p>

Chin followed, and Tom was acting as rear guard. All three men made entry, and proceeded to clear the room with military precision, not surprising with the two special ops soldiers and one experienced police officer. The room was clear, with Kelly, McGarrett and Fortnell being the only ones there. However, the sink was wet, pointing to the fact that Travis had recently shaved, and as a result had only just evacuated the area. Chin found a photo and letters from Thomas.

Tom moved to a couch, and reaching under, pulled out three boxes marked clearly as occupying T-9 Sabrecat remote-control airplanes. On closer inspection, however, the boxes were empty, with the planes themselves, and alarmingly, the controllers not present. All three boxes were identically empty, and Tom pieced together the sink, the letters and the empty packaging.

"He's on the move for one last op."

"We're running out of time, we have to move." Steve got up.

"Hold on, I got something." Chin was reading a letter. "In these letters, Roan is blaming someone called Meachum. Says she "sold me out. She convinced me to take the deal.""

"Meachum's his lawyer."

"Judge, prosecutor, lawyer, safe to say Meachum is going to have a really bad day and soon." Tom pointed out.

"The public defender." Chin drew the line. "Our next target."

* * *

><p>Brian Meachum, the public defender's son was at Pi'ikoi Middle School waiting to go home after a long day of learning.<p>

"Looking for this, Mr Meachum?" Brian looked up to find an old guy with a raspy voice hand him his bag.

"Yeah." Brian replied.

"Found it by the gym. Somebody must be messing with you."

"Thanks." Brian began to walk off.

"You be careful now." The old guy called after him. Sensing that the kid, who had turned around had a look of alarm, added, "Your homework, always remember to double-check it."

"Right. Thanks again."

Kono was having no luck getting through to Dianna Meachum, straight to voice mail. The DMV did manage to get a description of the vehicle though.

"Guess we're going in hot." Tom stated. "Confirm, beige minivan, license plate CB0 325, say again, Charlie, Bravo, Zero, Space, Three, Two, Five. Red Ford Explorer, High Value Target Confirmed presence of HVT, Travis Roan, approach with extreme caution, unstable, confirmed presence of explosives."

"You were in the military once, right?" Chin asked.

"Why do you think Steve coralled me into your operation?"

Brian jogged over to Dianna's minivan, not even noticing the red Ford Explorer with Travis inside. He got out his phone and dialled the number. Brian had just got into the minivan when Dianna's phone vibrated.

"Hey, why do you always set your phone to vibrate?" Brian asked.

"It's a little embarrassing when it goes off in court."

"Maybe you should answer it."

Dianna proceeded to pick up the phone. "This is Dianna."

"Mrs Meachum." The voice replied... "This is Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett from Five-0. You're in danger right now. You need to get out of your car. Just don't touch anything. Just go."

"Brian." Dianna rapidly patted her son. "Get out of the car. Right now."

As both Meachums fled the minivan, Five-0's two Camaros, one Silverado and one Cruze infiltrated the parking lot, stopping just a short distance away from the red SUV. Kono and Chin peeled off to get the Meachums to safety, while Tom, Danny and Steve headed towards the Explorer, handguns and rifles drawn.

"Five-0, hands where I can see them." Danny was the first to see Roan. He stood by the driver's window, while Steve positioned himself by the passenger door and Tom stood in front, his M4 raised and ready to fire. Travis was just looking straight ahead. "Hey, I need you to step out of the car slowly, alright?"

"That boy, he's only 13 years old." Travis was continuing to stare out the windshield. "Just like Thomas was when I last saw him." His hand was slowly creeping towards the remote-control next to the shifter. "Just like Thomas." His hand stopped just above the on switch. "Now he's gone. He's gone. I lost him. I lost him." Travis began to sob, and Steve mouthed go as a signal for Danny to open the door and pull Travis out. The old man didn't even put up a fight, and soon he was on the ground in cuffs.

* * *

><p>Later on, as Tom was settling into his new office, and setting up his desk, the door opened, and someone walked in, stopping at the desk.<p>

"Yes?" Tom looked up to find Valerie standing there.

"Bonjour." Valerie sounded a little unsure. "Would it be OK if we went for dinner tonight?"

After a little time for a decision, Tom replied, "Yeah. It'd be OK." And before he knew it, Valerie had pulled him into a hug.

* * *

><p>That's a wrap for the Long Goodbye! Heart, humor and action, I think I've got plenty of 'em. As usual, keep the reads coming, and feel free to review should you want to leave feedback. A visit to the dedicated Truck Stop forum would be nice too...<p> 


	9. Old Friends And New Drivers

I am so truly sorry for the long wait, but I've been sandwiched between writer's block and personal issues, so now I'm determined to get this story finished.

* * *

><p>For the past month, Tom had been busy running cargo across the island. Fuel, car parts, actual cars, it seemed that he could write an entire book on the stuff he hauled. That, and what it was really like to live life on the road.<p>

He had also done a little digging. He'd found out that Valerie worked as an engineer for the city of Honolulu designing roads, and for that he had to thank her (mentally, at least). Without her, there probably wouldn't be roads. Without roads, the truckers such as Tom wouldn't be able to drive. Without truckers, the island would probably grind to a halt due to lack of supplies (and Danny would have a hard time driving his Camaro).

Stopping, Tom got out of the truck, and walked around to the trailer. It was a standard car transport trailer, but the cars being transported were far from ordinary. They were a mix of sports executive sedans: a Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, BMW, Ford, Cadillac and Audi. Tom looked past the trailer at the place he was supposed to deliver them to. Yep, Rachel and Stan's house. That explained everything.

Setting to work, Tom devised a plan to deliver these cars. First off, he'd get the Merc E63 AMG, Ford Taurus SHO and Cadillac STS-V off the lower deck first. He'd parked the truck a little farther from the gate, allowing clean access. Danny had given Tom the gate access code, so he didn't need to worry about the gate. He'd drive the cars onto the driveway, then return to the trailer, lower the top deck, and drive the Jaguar XFR, BMW M5 and Audi RS6 off the top deck and park them on the driveway. Stan was away, due to return in a couple of hours, so Tom figured he'd use the extra time to clean the cars, make them spotless, then close the gate and get the hell out of Dodge!

* * *

><p>Another successful delivery, and Tom had just proved he was rapidly becoming one of the best truckers in Hawaii. He'd gathered quite a reputation as a reliable and experienced truck driver who would get the job done. However, there was still something on his mind.<p>

With that, Tom met up with Chin and Nick at the 60 Miles, and asked them about a particular person he had met.

"Ah yes, Analu Lakona." Nick spoke. "He's a well respected trucker who's been operating for ten years. He runs cargo up and down the island, using his truck and the inter-island ferry service to deliver from Hawai'i to Oahu, and every island in between."

Chin added, "And he's got quite a reputation as a bounty hunter and private investigator for hire. He's known to crack any case that comes his way, and it's a safe bet that everything's gonna turn out alright if he's on the job."

"Yeah." Tom didn't bother telling them about Justin Brown. "So Nick, I'll keep a lookout for him. Mind showing me what truck he's got?"

"Sure." Nick reached for his iPhone, and handed it to Tom, who analyzed the picture of the silver European truck.

"OK. That's a Mercedes-Benz Actros 1860 V8, cab-over semi truck from Germany, widely used over Europe for long distance and heavy duty distribution haulage. They've got luxurious cabs, and are powered by V6 or V8 engines ranging from 320 to 480 horsepower for the 12 liter V6, and 510 to 550 horsepower for the 16.0 V8." Tom looked up. "Trouble is, if this truck's German, and this guy's in Hawaii, 7,000 miles away, how the hell does he get his hands on one, and how can he use it on our roads?"

"He imported it here and got a special permit from the government."

"This guy is connected. Ah well, I did think about importing a European truck once. And I did drive an American Chevy Camaro in Japan, so I guess that makes us equal."

"I did a little digging on his other vehicles." Chin offered. "He also owns a Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle and a 1978 Dodge Charger muscle car."

"Got it." Tom got up to leave.

"Oh, and you don't seem to trust him for some reason." Nick called to him.

"You're right." Tom simply walked out the door. As he got into the truck, he could've sworn he saw that silver Actros in the parking lot.

* * *

><p>Later on, in the office of his garage, Tom was just looking at a few things: running costs, past cases Five-0 had dealt with, and alternating between that and watching the news on TV.<p>

"In business news, today is a good day to be a trucker." Tom figured he might just look at this report. "Profits are going up, and there are now more truckers on the roads of Hawaii than ever. In fact, the companies cannot keep up with demand! We spoke to one person who was interested in joining this growing band of modern day cowboys."

The TV screen now showed a familiar face. There was no denying it, Valerie Camille was that person who wanted to be a truck driver. "I've always been fascinated by big trucks, and I've been looking around trying to find a truck for me. I feel there's big money to be made int his business, and there's the fact that you won't be lonely out there! Once, my taxi broke down and I was rescued by one of those truck drivers. Hopefully, I'll see him out on the roads sometime."

As the interview ended, Tom heard a honking outside, a honking that sounded like a truck horn. He stepped outside to investigate, and was met with the sight of a blue 2009 Freightliner Cascadia truck in the middle of the parking lot. Valerie was stepping out of the truck.

"Bloody hell Valerie!" Tom said. "You never told me you had a commercial driver's licence!"

"Actually, I've had it for several years." Valerie confessed. "I wanted to work as a delivery driver in France, but my father didn't approve of it. Now, here, I can be what I want."

"I saw your interview on the news report. You didn't seem like a truck driver at first."

"I have to admit, you did inspire me."

"So I'm the first one to see the truck you've got."

"Yes. I picked up this 2009 Cascadia at a used truck sale. It's got a Detroit Diesel DD15 engine with 455 horsepower as well as a 72" raised roof sleeper cab, and an Eaton Ultrashift 13 speed transmission." Valerie looked a little unsure about her recital of her new truck's specs.

"Hot damn, you're gonna do just fine on the road." Tom said with a smile.

"Well, I'm a little unsure of this job. I'm not good with being my own boss and I'd rather have someone tell me what to do."

Tom looked at Valerie, then to her Cascadia, then to his own Coronado, and then to the garage. "You know, starting a company has been a bit of a goal of mine since I started truck driving."

"And now you've got a willing employee who you've met before, and who has even supplied her own truck..."

"...Now there's no reason to wait any longer." Tom put his hand on Valerie's shoulder. "Now you've inspired me to do something. Well done."

"Do you think we're going to be alright?"

"I think we're gonna become one of the best transportation companies on the island. Now, let's move out." Tom headed to his Coronado, and fired it up. He steered out onto the road, followed by Valerie and her Cascadia. Although it wasn't official, Fortnell Trucking had begun.

* * *

><p>Short chapter, I know, but it's better than nothing, right? Also, I have set up a forum for those interested in truck driving called Life On The Road Roleplay. You can sign up any character from any fandom, or even your own, and start driving across Europe delivering loads and meeting other drivers. You can find it in search, or there's a link on my profile and in the Truck Stop forum.<p> 


	10. Ne Me'e Laua Na Paio

Time for the last chapter of Small Beginnings!

AussieJo: Glad you like it! It's always been a long term goal of Tom's to set up his own company. And if you want to investigate that Mercedes-Benz Actros, go ahead! You might like what you find!

* * *

><p>Today had started out like normal. Tom's first bit of income had come from delivering comic books to a book store in Waikiki.<p>

And the irony was that now he was investigating the case of a guy dressed as a comic book superhero who had apparently jumped to his death.

As the first Five-0 on scene (and believe me, he'd even gone to the hotel straight after the delivery, no time to swap the truck for the car), Fortnell was wondering where the hell Steve and Danny were. Were they having a conversation about lunch? Were they meeting a CIA person or something? The bloody Pac-Man in cargo pants, and the ranting competition winner from New Jersey...

To his relief, the duo had finally arrived, and they were joining Max Bergman in examining the victim. Tom had only just met Bergman, and found him interesting and efficient, if a little quirky. He was a comic book fan too. Damn, should've brought the trailer and a few spare comic books to this one...

"Although Captain Fallout dons a cape, he's not capable of actual flight." Max spoke. Captain Fallout. Why did this guy fall out of the sky then? "Merely superhuman leaping abilities."

"Max, who's Captain Fallout?" The obviously-not-clued-up-on-comic-book-superheroes Steve asked.

"The fearless leader of the Wondrous Seven." Dammit, there were only five in Five-0. Dammit. After a short pause and silence, Max continued, "He acquired his powers when he was attacked by one of Hitler's radioactive German shepherds during the Battle of the Bulge." Tom was now seriously considering jumping in the pool.

"Really?"

"Wow, you guys need to brush up on your classics."

"We don't need to brush up on anything." Danny replied while Tom was kneeling down examining the body.

"Yeah, you need to bring us back to reality." Tom added.

"Yep, here on Earth, and answer the obvious question: Why this guy took a dive wearing tights."

"Well, Spectacucon is in town this weekend." Max said. "So I assume our victim was going to attend."

"OK, it's a comic book convention." Steve confirmed. "Do we have an ID on the vic yet?"

"Afraid not. But due to the nature of the injuries, I would estimate that he fell at least ten stories." With that in mind, Tom looked up at the building to study trajectories (basically, how this guy would fall if he jumped out of a particular room on a particular floor. Physics was indeed useful.)

"Maybe he's a jumper Max." Danny gave his idea.

"No. This was definitely a homicide." Oh, now this was getting interesting. "Facial lacerations imbedded with glass fragments indicates our victim was most likely thrown out of a window, perhaps a sliding glass door. The residues on both wrists are consistent with duct tape."

"He was bound?" Steve asked.

"Yes. And the definitive bruising also suggests..."

"That he struggled with his attacker. OK." Danny concluded. He reached inside one of the pockets on the vic's belt and extracted a phone. Even though the screen had sustained damage due to the impact, the New Jersey detective could still see that a message had been received. "A message from Psycho Kitty. 'Be careful, he's looking for you'."

"Too bad our vic didn't get this warning in time."

* * *

><p>At the Hawaii Convention Center, Spectacucon was indeed in town, and it was spectacular too. Everyone seemed to be in a costume of some kind. Kono had managed to get an ID off the phone: Alex Baker, an insurance adjustor from Atlanta that had flown in two days ago for this event. Tom was with Chin and Kono checking out the hotel, leaving Danny and Steve to try to track down the Psycho Kitty.<p>

Air conditioning on meat freezer setting, the two cousins entered Baker's hotel room. Forced entry? Nope, no signs. Nothing to suggest a struggle either. Chin looked out of the glass door while Kono investigated the comics on the table. Chin Ho made his way out onto the balcony and looked down at the flattened shelter, police investigators still around the remains. With the correct aiming, it was possible to make a leap of faith, and then to meet Hitler and his radioactive dogs in heaven upon landing on that shelter.

"Trajectory lines up. It's a clear shot to the pool below." Chin spoke. "You know, Max said Alex Baker had facial lacerations from broken glass. They're obviously not from these windows. I don't think this is our crime scene."

"Well, our vic had to have been thrown off the building from someplace." Kono said as she stepped onto the balcony. She noticed something on the floor, and Chin saw it as well. He knelt down to study it.

"It;s broken glass. It's gotta be from the suite directly above."

"Correct." Tom called from the balcony above Chin and Kono's, which was covered in broken glass and missing the glass from the sliding door. "I think THIS is our crime scene."

* * *

><p>"Room 1703 is registered to Jonathan Demille from Port Allen, Lousisiana." Kono reported as she and Chin Ho marched towards the room in question. "Manager says it has the exact same layout as room 1603, Alex Baker's room just directly one floor above." They stopped at the door. "Look, there's a card still in the lock. That's weird." She tried the card. It didn't work. "Way weird."<p>

"Try the one the hotel manager gave you." Chin suggested. Kono complied, and fished her card out of her pocket. This one worked, and soon, they were inside.

"Welcome to my room." Tom greeted them as they stepped inside. "Excuse the mess."

"How's you even get in?" Chin wondered.

Tom held up his smartphone. "Hacker app. Got given this when I was in the Task Force 141. I can hack into almost anything. I could unlock your SUV, start it up and be off with it within 30 seconds. Of course, I use it responsibly, and for the task at hand, like in this case. Gotta love the modern smartphone."

Joining Kono on the balcony, the two men studied the glass on the floor. Chin Ho simply stated, "This is our crime scene."

* * *

><p>At Spectacucon, Danny and Steve had learned that Psycho Kitty was in fact, Gail Woodson. Her and Baker had met on an online message board, had discovered they liked the same stuff, and had met that day. Then Gail's ex-husband Trevor showed up, got angry, caused a scene and declared Woodson couldn't see Baker anymore, or he'd kill Alex.<p>

At the Palace, Steve and Danny had learned about Trevor Wright, Psycho Kitty's ex, and that he had a rap sheet about as long as Tom's truck with a trailer. They'd attempted to make contact with Trevor at Kailua Beach, which lead to a foot pursuit, which led to Steve tackling Trevor after Danny had diverted him with an ATV. Afterwards, Trevor had said he didn't know who Alex Baker was, and asked about the fact that "Super Dork" was dead. He'd just wanted to scare Baker, but Gail had made it clear she and Trevor were never going to be together again. He said after the convention that he'd gone to the beach on one of those dolphin watching cruises. Danny wasn't convinced, but Steve found a piece of paper inside Trevor's shirt pocket. Dolphin excursions, 11:00am, and there were at least a dozen people who could put him on that boat. Dead end.

* * *

><p>Back at the hotel room, things were just getting hotter. "Jonathan Demille," Kono said, "the name this room is booked under, dead for nearly a year. But a credit card was opened up with his name and social a few months ago."<p>

"No way he's risen from the dead. This had to be identity theft." Tom thought aloud.

"It's called ghosting." Chin informed. "You take the identity of someone recently deceased and then you rack up charges until the credit card company wises up."

"And here I am paying 18.5% interest?" Kono asked.

"Well here's a $30,000 watch." Chin replied while holding up a gold watch. "Maybe you can use this to pay off your debts." This was too much for Tom and he began laughing.

"Ripe for the taking, which means this wasn't a robbery." At the end of Kono's sentence, Tom stiffened up, stood up straight and stopped laughing. Back to being serious. "Someone tossed this room looking for something specific."

"Right." Tom confirmed. "It still doesn't explain how our vic ended up in this room."

"Not everyone has your hacker app." Chin pointed out.

"Never gonna let that one go, are you?"

"Nope."

"I had the manager run this key card we found in the lock this morning." Kono continued. "It was programmed for room 1603."

"OK, so then why would our friend Alex Baker use his room key to try to get in here?"

"16 and 1703 have the same layout." Tom deduced. "Baker could've got off on the wrong floor, went to what he thought was his room and tried to open it."

"Hotel records show he signed for drinks at the bar this morning." Kono added. "I had Max run his blood alcohol. It was three times the legal limit."

"That explains it."

"The guy was blasted."

"So he leaves the convention and hits the bar to drown his sorrows." Chin pieced together the puzzle.

"He rides the elevator and gets off on the wrong floor."

"Right. And in these hotels all the corridors look exactly the same." Chin looked at Tom.

"And he's too wasted to notice his mistake." Tom added.

"Meanwhile, someone's ransacking this room, then hear Baker at the door trying to get in with his key." Kono continued.

"They pull him inside and tie him up because, as far as they know, he's their man. Kono, we need to find whoever booked this room. They're our only lead to catching our killer."

As Chin left, Kono found Tom deep in thought.

"Anything wrong?" She asked.

"I dunno. I'm considering the possibility Baker was dead before he hit the ground."

* * *

><p>When Chin did some digging, he found out that the watch was stolen three days prior from the Davis residence. That, and it was registered to a Mr Richard Davis, who was out on business, and who his wife was convinced had nothing to do with the murder. While waiting for Mrs Davis to return with the police report concerning the theft of the watch, Chin found a baseball bat on a shelf. When Mrs Davis returned, Chin pointed out the collection, and said that he didn't know if the robber could've killed somebody.<p>

"I ID'd our missing thief, Jonathan Demille." Kono spoke with Danny and Tom back at the Palace. "And I pulled a statement from his credit card.

"All right, well, for the very least, he's stimulating the local economy." Danny's sense of humor. "He's got a $1,000 in the skate shop, another few hundred at a video game store."

"The last couple of weeks, he spent almost 20 grand at a strip club. A place called Femme Nu."

"You cannot spend that kind of money without attracting some attention. Someone's gotta be able to point us towards this guy."

"And maybe he can point us towards our killer."

"Well, good luck guys." Tom excused himself. "I'm going off to do some trucking. Call me when you get some more intel on this case."

"Will do." Kono said as she and Danny walked out, leaving Tom alone in the room. He got out his smartphone, went into the hacker app, pointed it at the wall next to the door, and remotely turned out the lights.

* * *

><p>Tom spent the rest of the day driving, and the night inside the sleeper cab of his Freightliner in the parking lot. There was a bonus to being a trucker with a sleeper: No need to book a hotel room. That's how Captain Fallout fell out, right? Anyway, in the morning, he found out from Kono that Demille was known at the club as Johnny D (very imaginative alias...) and that Five-0 weren't the only ones looking for him. The big guy in a track suit could've dropped Baker off the balcony thinking he was Johnny D, but the guy at the club didn't tell him where Johnny D was. You couldn't find Johnny D, Johnny D found you.<p>

So after they made it look like his girl Tiffany was sending him a text, they managed to get Johnny D to go to the club (in a Mustang no less). After officially the quickest car chase ever, they had Johnny D in custody. They learned that he liked to give back to the community, oh, and he liked to take from the community too. The people he stole from were insured, he said. Danny quickly dropped the bombshell that an innocent man was dead because of him, and Steve showed him the photo of Alex Baker. Johnny D showed concern at Baker's death, and revealed that a guy was asking around about him, and after an encounter, he was laying low at the hotel.

Steve and Danny then went to Johnny D's garage with the man in question, and saw the stuff he took. Lots of stuff in there. They narrowed it down to the stuff at the front of the garage, including some silverware, $100,000 worth of jewelry and season four of Cheers (!). Steve found a snowglobe that had something concealed inside the base. He opened it up to find a chip of some kind. Bingo.

* * *

><p>"The memory card you found is password protected." Kono reported. "It looks like 64-bit encryption."<p>

"OK, can you crack it?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. Give me a couple of minutes." She started her program, but had a brainwave, and looked at Tom. "Or we could pull it off in 60 seconds."

"OK. OK." Tom sighed, before getting out his smartphone. He clicked on the hacker app, verified his identity with the fingerprint, and then he pointed it at the memory card, started the hack and put it down on the tech desk.

"What is that?" Steve asked.

"Smartphone, issued when I was in the 141, so we could track our targets by hacking into any electronic device. Let's say we're in a car chase, I hack the traffic lights, cause a traffic jam, then we move in on the target while he can't move. Good thing it's easy to use, and it looks like an ordinary smart phone."

"Whack jobs." Danny muttered.

Chin walked in, and said, "Check this out." before swiping a sketch on the screen.

"It looks like Johnny D's stalker." Steve pointed out.

"I had a sketch artist work work up a composite based on his description. H.P.D showed it around the hotel. Three employees reported seeing him around the time Baker went over the balcony."

"It's our killer."

"But I haven't been able to match the face to the name."

"Alright, looks like we got it." Kono suddenly said. "It looks like one file on the card and it's a video." She swiped the video onto the screen.

"Hold on." Danny commented.

"OK, it's time stamped, July 2008." Steve said. The video was showing a man and a woman on the couch.

"Wait a minute." Chin pointed out. "Go closer on that."

Kono zoomed in on the two faces. "I've seen her before."

"That's Lindsey Roberts. She's a local girl from Aiea. She disappeared in the summer of 2008. But there were no signs of foul play, so the case went cold, until they found her body at Mokuleia National Forest Reserve. This was ten weeks after they reported her missing. Killer was never found."

"OK, if this video was made right before Lindsey's disappearance then the mystery man in the video could be her killer." Steve joined the dots. "That's why Alex Baker was thrown off the balcony. That's why Johnny D's room was searched. This guy is trying to get back the evidence that could link him to Lindsey's murder."

* * *

><p>Lindsey's parents were questioned, and managed to identify the man in the video: Richard Davis, her boss. Max reported that the cause of Lindsey's death was blunt force trauma to the head, but wasn't able to determine the murder weapon, but a wood fiber was imbedded in the skull. It could've been a piece of wood from the forest, but Max disagreed, even though he followed the ruling of his superior. It turned out Max had kept the wood fiber, identified as northern white ash of around 60 years of age, not native to Hawaii. Most likely, it was from a 1950's baseball bat. Now where had Chin seen a baseball bat before?<p>

Mrs Davis had quite a shock when she opened the door to find Kono looking serious, Tom in full military gear and Chin shoving the search warrant in her face.

"Richard Davis." Kono called to the man sitting on the couch.

"What's going on?" He asked as he stood up.

"Hands behind your back please." Kono read him his rights. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Meanwhile, Tom followed Chin to a shelf, containing the baseball bat.

* * *

><p>"This bat must've cost a fortune." Chin said aloud. "It was made to kill pitches, not pretty young women." Chin was with Richard and Steve in the interrogation room.<p>

"What are you talking about?"

"Lindsey Roberts died from a blow to the head with a blunt object. There was a wood fragment embedded in her skull. I'm betting the tests are gonna prove that the fragment came from this bat." He held the bat in front of Richard.

"This is absurd." Richard declared. "Lindsey Roberts was an intern at my firm for maybe a couple months before she disappeared. Now, what happened to her is tragic, but I had nothing to do with it."

"You weren't having an affair with her?"

"No."

Steve reached inside his file, and walked over to Richard. "This is you and Lindsey." Steve held the photograph. "How do you explain this?" No answer. "Why don't you explain this?" He said a little louder.

"I didn't kill her."

"Are you really still trying to deny this?" Chin asked with a smile on his face.

"I swear, I didn't kill her. I couldn't have. I loved her." There was a tense silence inside the interrogation room. "We were in a relationship. Yeah, I admit it. The bat is in my trophy case. The photo, where did you get that photo?"

"They're stills from the little home video you made. Let me ask you something. Did Lindsey even know that you were recording her?"

"No. No. I didn't. That's me, yes. It's my office. But I never made a video. I wouldn't do that to her."

Danny interrupted the silence by opening the door.

"Something you guys gotta see."

* * *

><p>"One week after Lindsey disappears, five calls from Davis' direct line at work to her cell phone." Danny informed the two as they walked in on Tom and Kono working with the hackphone.<p>

"Why would he be calling her if he knew she was dead?" Chin asked.

"Exactly." Tom answered.

"So we did a little more digging." Kono said. "Davis' wife Anne used to be a public school teacher, which means she had to undergo a background check. I ran her fingerprints against the ones we lifted off the SD card. It's a match."

"Did a little digging in Anne Davis' financials." Danny picked up, "She writes a check to her personal trainer for $500 every single month. A couple of days ago he gets a bonus check, $10,000."

"Reward for the hit?" Tom rhetorically asked.

"That's right?" Danny continued. "So we did background on this guy."

"Paulo Bell, 37." Kono spoke as she swiped a mugshot onto the screen. "He's got a record. Aggravated robbery and multiple weapons charges, battery."

"That's a familiar face." Chin pointed out.

"That's because he matches the sketch that you had mocked up of our suspect based on Johnny D's description."

"We just found Anne's hired muscle." Steve summed up.

* * *

><p>Ramming down the door, the team swiftly made entry into the room, guns drawn. Steve kicked a table, tripping Paulo, and sending him to the floor.<p>

"You're under arrest for the murder of Alex Baker." Tom said while keeping his M4 trained on him.

* * *

><p>Later, at the Palace, Bell revealed that Mrs Davis had paid him $10,000 to retrieve some stolen property, a snow globe with "great sentimental value." Yep, Alex Baker, completely innocent, was thrown off a balcony for a snow globe. Anne soon said that she needed to know the truth when she suspected Richard was having an affair. So she set up a hidden camera in his office, which recorded the video that the hackphone had retrieved off the memory card. That night she'd e-mailed Lindsey from his computer, asking her to come over. When Lindsey admitted she was in love with Richard, and said he'd leave Anne so that they could be together, it all became a bit too much. Anne didn't mean to kill her with the bat. After the confession, it ended in the only way it could have.<p>

"Book her Danno."

* * *

><p>"<em>We now take you to the conference already in progress at the home of Lindsey Roberts' parents."<em>

"_On behalf of Lindsey and her entire family, we'd just like to thank the Five-0 task force and the Honolulu Police Department. Because of their hard work, we can now move forward knowing justice will be served."_

* * *

><p>It was 7:00pm and Tom was alone inside the room. He was doing a little digging on his hackphone, reading up on Analu Lakona, when Steve entered.<p>

"What are you doing?" He asked as he sat down beside Fortnell.

"I'm reading up on this guy, Analu Lakona. Trucker and bounty hunter."

"I remember him, couple of months ago he stole evidence. Took us ten days to retrieve that evidence, and let me tell you it was vital to the case."

"I know I want to throw him in a shark tank as well."

"Get in line."

"I'm already in line."

Steve had a thought. "Tom?"

"Yeah?" Tom looked up.

"You're the only person I can trust with this, so I'll say it to you and only you. Ready?"

"Almost." Tom used the hackphone to turn off the security camera. "Clear."

"At 8:00pm tonight, I will go to a place in Honolulu to meet a CIA analyst called Jenna Kaye. She's got intel on a man named Wo Fat."

"Wo Fat huh? Tell me about him."

"He was an officer in Chinese Intelligence before he disappeared at the rank of colonel. He resurfaced several years later as a high-up in the criminal underworld with ties to the yakuza and twenty three bodies. Now, one of the men who works for him is Victor Hesse, he's the one who killed my father. There's a possibility that he ordered my father's murder."

"What did you say his name was?"

"Wo Fat."

"Goddamn." Tom suddenly had a flashback.

_Later on in the day, Tom was sat in a diner, looking at the trucks parked outside while sipping a Fanta fizzy drink. There was an episode of Mad Men playing on a TV near the bar, and Tom suspected that was why it was strangely quiet. Someone walked in, but Tom only heared as his attention was still on the trucks outside. The person marched over to Tom's table, and sat down on a seat opposite Tom's._

_"Hello." The man greeted._

_"Hi." Tom answered, still not looking away from the window._

_"I would just like to know what your involvement is with Steve McGarrett."_

_"Can't say I know the guy too well. I'm just a truck driver." Tom finally looked at the guest. He had dark skin and black hair, as well as a hint of evil about him._

_"So, tell me, what is your job right now?"_

_"Truck driver. I just deliver cargos where they're needed. Nothing special."_

_"Oh." The man got up to leave. "And do you know anything about Shelburne?_

_"Never even heard that word. Who are you anyway?"_

_"Wo Fat." With that, the man turned and walked out of the diner. Tom thought the name was a little suspicious and turned his head to look at the man's retreating form._

"I've got something to tell you. A while back, I was sitting in a diner when this guy comes in. He said his name was Wo Fat and he was asking about you and about Shelburne, whoever or whatever that is. I had never even heard of Shelburne."

Steve had a look of amazement and realization. "OK. Thank you." He turned to leave. "And thank you for your help in Five-0."

"No thanks needed."

Steve walked out the door, leaving Tom all on his own in the dark room. A few months ago, Tom Fortnell was just another outsider who had arrived on the Hawaiian Islands. Now he was a respected trucker and a high-up within the most elite law enforcement task force in Hawaii. Small beginnings.


End file.
